With the Help of Pansy
by thunder2010
Summary: What happens when Pansy brews a hate potion but it turns into a love/lust potion? And what if the voices in Draco's and Hermione's heads have a mind of their own?
1. Chapter 1 Start off New

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chap 1- Start off new

Draco stifled a groan as Pansy slid in beside him on the Hogwarts express. He personally had nothing against the girl, but she was just too clingy; and he didn't even like her like that anymore. If anything he just wanted to be alone. The war had done many things to him and he wanted to leave all of those memories behind. Which included Pansy who had enjoyed being on Voldemort's side until the very end.

Blaise sat opposite him and smirked, "Wipe that annoyed look of your face bro. We're going back to Hogwarts."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh joy," he said sarcastically. Really, he hadn't understood why his mother wanted him to go back; he had learned more in the past three years than he would anymore. He eyed Blaise, who was munching on a chocolate bar. "Are you excited to be back?" he asked.

"I haven't got anything better to do than sit at home. Dad said he'd teach me to lead the industry but I think I need a good shag or four before I sign my life away to a career at so young." He turned to Malfoy, who nodded, smiling slightly at the shagging part.

Draco really had nothing to say when family was brought into a conversation. His own father was in Azkaban, and he hadn't seen any other relative besides his mother the whole summer. The Ministry had put him and other "misguided youth" into a program over the summer that involved sitting around in a circle and talking about their feelings. It had been awkward everyday and Draco only talked to the shrink personally but eventually the foolish program finished and they all were deemed to back into normal society.

"Lost in your thoughts Draco?" asked Pansy.

He snapped out of his staring out the window and noticed the train was moving. He rubbed his temples and responded wryly, "Yeah, the usual." Pansy smiled and started talking. After a moment, Draco realized he wasn't listening to a word and watching her mouth move so much was irritating. "Um Pansy, can you move so I can get out?" He asked since he was next to the window and she next to the aisle.

She looked at him confused. "Why? I was about to get to how my aunt-"

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed to cut her off. "I'm Head Boy, I need to be in the compartment and meet Granger there."

Pansy stiffened at her name. "Why do you need to go meet the mudbl-?"

"Pansy," Draco said beginning to get irritated. "I said I have to meet the Head Girl and that happens to be Granger. Now move!"

With a pout, she slid aside to let him out. Blaise raised an eyebrow at her once Draco had left. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Draco never seems to show an interest in me anymore," she complained.

"Well, maybe he isn't." Pansy narrowed her eyes at him and he held his hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying what everyone is and thinking."

Pansy stared at him, shocked. He just nodded at her and got up to meet someone else when Pansy's friends started coming over to sit with her. _Well_, she thought deviously, _if everyone is thinking that, I'll have to do something about it. I'm not letting Draco get away from me._

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SOO this would make myy 4th story to update on atleast once a month? Yah.. I'm working on it. BUt once I had this idea in my head, i had to get it out. I've already written up to chapter 3 for this story but I wanna see if anyone likes it enough for me to continue. And if you do like it, how about a review? Maybe when I get 5-6 I'll put up chapter two. IF you don't like it.. just tell me. :)


	2. Chapter 2 However Draco is Just the Same

WHOP 2

Hermione frowned as the door opened and Malfoy walked in. "You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago." She said immediately.

He looked her over with that usual air of confidence. "No one's here yet."

"I thought I told you to meet me earlier so we could go over what to say before the prefects came. I want to make sure we're on the same page."

Draco rolled his eyes. Granger was turning into a Hogwarts teacher. "What's there to say besides that prefects are supposed to be responsible and tell them their duties?"

With a huff, Hermione sat next to him and handed him a piece of paper. "I made a chart for the first month. It's a schedule for us and the prefects-"

"I don't like it." He said handing it right back to her.

"You didn't even read it!" Hermione was beginning to get a headache; she had hoped working with Malfoy would not be this hard.

"I already know I will not be able to follow it. You don't know the quidditch practice schedule yet so it might conflict with it." He said as the compartment door creaked open and prefects started to come in.

"You knew we had to organize this before today so that we could begin our duties the first day of school. Why didn't you contact McGonagall to ask her about the quidditch schedule?" Draco shrugged it off. "And besides, quidditch practice doesn't start until the 3rd week of school. You can follow the schedule until then." She said shoving the paper back in his lap and standing up, giving attention to the prefects.

Draco frowned and also followed her. She began with the usual introductions frowning when Draco interrupted her to explain the schedule – which SHE had organized. She bet he did not even know the prefects by name.

"I know when quidditch practices start it might interrupt this schedule," Draco continued as Hermione avoided his glare. "But you have to follow the schedule until then."

"As you know," Hermione said with a much kinder tone. "A prefect has certain responsibilities such as patrolling the corridors at night and leaving class to help with school activities. However, this does not mean you should abuse these privileges. You will be allowed only 3 reprimands; if you are found to be disorderly more than that your badge will be taken away."

"That means no running off to shag in the corridors." Draco said eliciting a laugh from the prefects and a glare from Hermione. "Don't look at me like that Granger, these same rules apply to you too." he said with smirk and the prefects laughed louder. Hermione felt a blush rise up her face and struggled to resist hexing Malfoy.

"Of course Malfoy, but I think it's you these prefects should be watching out for."

His smirk didn't change. "I'll take that as a compliment, Granger."

_Self-absorbed prick,_ she thought. She cleared her throat and the laughter died down. "After the sorting ceremony you are to help the heads of the house with rounding students up and taking them to their appropriate houses. That is all. You may leave."

There was a shuffle as the 20 students left the room. Hermione caught Malfoy winking to a pretty Ravenclaw who blushed and walked faster when she noticed Hermione watching. She stopped Malfoy before he left.

"You could at least _try_ to be a little professional." She huffed.

Draco's face dropped back into a cold mask again. "And you could be a little more cooperative next time." He said trying to shoulder past her.

"I was much more cooperative than you! At least I talked about relative things."

"Oh and shagging in corridors isn't relevant today? Just because you don't participate in fun activities does not mean others don't."

Hermione blushed again. "Shut up, you know what I meant. And you better do your rounds tonight." She said, referring to the paper that said Draco was going to patrol with two prefects tonight.

He frowned at the names on the paper. "Isn't Isadore in Gryffindor? Why don't you patrol tonight?"

"That's the point, Malfoy." Hermione said moving around him and gathering her things. "You need to learn to get along with people that aren't like you."

"I don't need to get along with bloody Gryffindors." He said, stepping closer to her. "All of you are self-righteous fools; too brave and stubborn for your own good."

Then, suddenly the train hit a bump and their compartment jerked. Hermione watched as the smirk fell from Draco's face and his eyes widened as he tried- and failed – to catch his balance. It was funny and she wished she had a camera to capture this moment – that is until Hermione's leg caught on something and she crashed into him. They fell onto the seating area, eyes never leaving each other's. The muscles on his arm shifted as he held her waist to balance himself and Hermione felt a hum of energy course through her.

"Get off, Granger." He huffed, quickly putting distance between them.

Hermione blinked and immediately moved away from him as well. "That was the train's fault- not mine."

"Stop being so clumsy all the time, mudblood." His eyes lingered on hers for a moment longer before quickly leaving. The door slammed behind him.


	3. Chapter 3 Pansy's Fault

I was so happy about those reviews :) that was very nice of you guys to give me some feedback. So I've decided to have no Voldy but this is going to be AFTER the war which means there's no living Dumbledore :'( and... should Draco have the dark mark? Because he does in the movie and I think it's really cool if he has it. Tell me what you think. Also, there is like I warned, a fair bit of cursing, so be warned.

(P.S. sorry for all the changing POV so fast... it starts with Pansy just so you know.)

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or their sayings. Just my own plot.

Chap 3- Pansy's Fault

It was the second week of school and Draco was still not paying attention to Pansy. They were in Potions class and were about to get their new teacher. Again.

"Oy, Granger!" she heard Draco whisper at the mudblood. He said something witty to her and she responded back easily, but laughing and smiling. At HER Draco! And he had the nerve to laugh back! And when was the last time he had said anything to her that had both of them smiling? She couldn't even remember! Oh that mudblood was going to get it!

Suddenly, the door to the room opened to reveal a man in dark silver robes and dark hair. All the girls practically swooned when he smiled, showing white teeth. Draco - as well as all the other boys - thought he was going to be sick.

Hermione watched with interest as the man came in with style and smiled at everyone. She caught her friend Deane's eye and saw her mouth, "He's so gorgeous!" Hermione raised an eyebrow and turned back to him. He had nice clear skin with a slight tan and jet black hair. He seemed regular, but his robes were a different story. He had a silver robe, rich in color and very expensive looking.

"Good afternoon class. You may call me Professor Ravere. I will be your new potions teacher this year." he looked around the room, meeting eyes with each student and Hermione felt something tighten in her stomach. "All right, take out your advanced potions books and I will be handing out a parchment. You will go through your book trying to find the answers to the questions." He waved his wand at the book in his hand and pieces of parchment appeared on every desk. "This should not be too hard, but if it is you may turn it in tomorrow finished. No exceptions. This is just to familiarize you with your book so you may begin."

Hermione as always, had started when she had gotten the worksheet and by the time most students had finished halfway, she was done. Putting away her quill, she stood up, going to give it in. She was walking up when suddenly a foot jerked out and tripped her. She stumbled with a gasp, her knees hitting the hard floor.  
Pansy started laughing and almost everyone joined her. Hermione stood up, her face flushing in embarrassment and anger.

The Professor, as well as Harry and Ron were at her side and checked to see if she was alright. Draco stared at his foot, surprised. What had happened? He had not meant to put his foot out so suddenly. Pansy smirked at Hermione and put her wand back in her robe silently as the Professor turned to Draco.

"Young man," he said with anger but Hermione interrupted him.

"What is your problem, Malfoy? Are you blind or something? Did you not see me coming up or you thought it would be funny to act like a fucking immature toad?" she yelled and the room was suddenly silent, everyone focused on them.

He stood up in anger; he hadn't meant to do anything. "Maybe you are the blind one. Did you not see my foot there or were you trying to step on it on purpose?"

"I wouldn't waste my time on you Malfoy. I'm not as childish or as low as you." Gasps and murmurs started to fly around the room and Hermione wished they would shut up.

He immediately got in her face. "What did you just say, Mudblood? I am not the one low on the scale." Hermione's eyes widened and her fists curled.

"You disgust me if you think your damn pure-blood status means any-"

"Enough!" the Professor yelled, putting a hand between them. "Mister Malfoy, apologize to Miss Granger."

He widened his eyes. "Me? Apologize to her? She's the clumsy one, wrongly accusing me, and cursing at me! Not to mention being an annoying attention hog!"

Hermione lunged for his throat. "You are so bloody full of it!" she yelled, and Harry and Ron pulled her back so she couldn't reach him.

"Miss Granger!" the Professor yelled, turning to her. "You are Head Girl. There is no need for his filthy language nor-"

"Save it," Malfoy said and locked eyes with Hermione. "Everything about her is as filthy as her blood."

Suddenly Hermione broke free of her friends' grips and her fist connected with his face. Draco stumbled back from the impact and tasted blood. Pansy's blood drained from her face; this wasn't supposed to happen. She just wanted Granger and her Draco to stop being so friendly to each other. Not this.

Draco spit blood at her feet and looked at her, his eyes blazing. "You'll regret that one, Granger." he snarled, taking out his wand.

Hermione immediately took out her own. "Give me your worst," she said back, her jaw set; she was getting really tired of this boy.

Their Professor stood in between them and muttered a spell that had both of their wands in his hands. "You two are Heads of the school. I will not tolerate such insolent behavior. Both of you will report here at 18 hours and have lunch here and then serve detention. You will not get your wands until then." By now, both Hermione and Draco were glaring at each other and their Professor in rage. "And I will be speaking to the staff and Headmistress about taking away your positions and giving it to more responsible and deserving students. Is that clear?" he asked and they both reluctantly nodded. "Good. Mister Malfoy you may go to the nurse to take care of your wound and are dismissed for the rest of class. I expect you to finish that work by tomorrow. Miss Granger, hand in your work and go back to your seat."

Draco gathered his possessions and handed the Professor his parchment. "I already finished," he said and walked out of class.

Hermione did as she was told and went to sit down. If Malfoy made her lose her position as Head Girl, he was going to pay.

After leaving the infirmary he went straight to the Head Room. _Granger was going to pay hell for this._

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I'm sorry if they both seem out of character being this angry, but I hope you'll understand. Do you guys have a prediction how and who Hermione was tripped by or do you need me to tell? I don't know when I'll put up the next chapter because I haven't worked on it yet and I have school tomorrow and an essay for English as well as my other stories.

Just do me a favor and review; I'll be really happy: D


	4. Chapter 4 And So It Begins

MortalInstrumentsObsessed: thank you :D

Ha-ha to my reviewer mimpy: "cool beans" I'm SO using that.

Dairymilkx0x: thankyouuu :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the story or characters; just my plot.

Chapter 4:

By the time the seventh years were at their last class before dinner, everyone knew to stay away from Hermione and Draco, who were equally angry.

They were outside, in Care of Magical Creatures 3 and Hagrid had given each pair of students a Snaggot to take care of and feed for the day. The big thing was brown and scaly. It had short legs and loved to bounce. They were learning that food was the only way to calm these creatures. They were not allowed to choose partners and Harry had been unfortunately stuck with Hermione, and Draco was the odd number and found himself with Hagrid because there wasn't anyone left for him.

"How dare he?" Hermione exclaimed aloud for the bazillionth time that day. Harry cringed; she had been silent the whole day in anger and now he was going to be the one she vented on.

"I know Hermione, but you have to let-"

"No Harry! I will not let it go!"

"Hermione, he's not-"

"You know what, Harry? I don't even know why they even let him back at Hogwarts. Him and those other ex-Voldemort following arses! And now he has the nerve to trip me and try to make a fool out of me! He's so… mean. I don't even understand; I never did anything to him! He was and is always provoking me. He always has to come out of nowhere and bother someone! There's something bloody wrong with him!"

Harry sighed, exasperated of trying to calm her down. She was supposed to be the calm, cool, level-headed one; not the one blowing up over nothing. He threw a cabbage at the Snaggot and tried to think of a speech and re-arrange his words to drill some sense into his best friend. "Hermione-"

"You know what, Harry?" Hermione asked, once again interrupting him. "Someone needs to teach him a lesson."

A little farther away, Draco was also feeding a Snaggot. The sun was bright overhead him and, he huffed and unbuttoned his shirt another notch (ignoring the many girls trying to check him out), and stretching his sleeves up higher. Instantly the creature backed away from him and climbed up a tree, as fast as a cheetah.

Draco stared at the thing confused, and then followed its gaze. It was staring at his left arm. Draco looked at his bear left arm and remembered that when Voldemort had finally collapsed, the mark had disappeared with him as well. But there was nothing on his arm now! What was the beast afraid of? He wondered annoyed.

"What did you do to him, Malfoy?" Pansy called from behind him.

He shrugged and looked back at the animal, unsure of what to do. More people gathered to look and Draco wished they would all look away and mind their bloody business.

"You know, Malfoy." Called a voice from the crowd and Draco's eyes met a pair of sparkling brown ones. "These animals have pure souls and these young Snaggots can tell who has a pure soul or not."

"What're you trying to say, Granger?" he asked her, and she glared daggers at him.

"You're supposed to be smart, Malfoy. I think you know exactly what I'm saying."

He rolled his eyes and dismissed her saying, "No, I do not Granger and nor do I care. And I don't see why you do either." Hermione blushed for no reason and he gave her a smug smile, deciding to forget the Snaggot. He tried tossing a lettuce piece at it, but it hissed at him. He was about to walk away when Hermione and Harry's Snaggot came in front of Draco.

"Hey!" Hermione and Harry exclaimed. "Get back!" Ignoring them, it stood in front of Draco and ate the salad piece. He stared at it, bewildered; why was this one not afraid of him?

Granger's Snaggot looked up at him munching on the lettuce piece and Draco felt himself smile a little and threw another lettuce at it. It happily chomped on that one as well.

"Guess this one thinks I have a pure soul, Granger!" He called out to her and smirked at her fuming expression.

He looked up at the Snaggot on the tree and it looked at the munching Snaggot like it was insane. It hissed and Granger's Snaggot looked up at it. They hissed back and forth at each other communicating; the one on the tree hissing angrily while the other gave short hiss-responses.

After several minutes of hissing, Hagrid came over to see what was going on. "What happened here, Malfoy?" he asked him, trying to figure out what was going on.

Malfoy shot him an annoyed glance and shrugged. "I don't know, that one just ran up a tree and while I was trying to coax it down with some food, Granger's and Potter's came to eat."

Hagrid went up to the one at the tree and tried to coax it down. Not meeting anyone's eye, Draco picked up his things and began walking away, but the other Snaggot followed him. "Looks like you've got an admirer, Ferret!" Weasley sneered at him and Draco flipped him off without looking. Sighing, he turned back to the one following him and turned to Granger and Potter.

"Oy!" he hollered to them, and they turned their attention to him. He glared at them and then pointed to their Snaggot. Hermione then glared at him as if it was his fault and motioned for the Snaggot to go to her. It gave her a look and then after one last glance at Draco, it bounced back over to the original pair who was supposed to be feeding her.

Draco scowled as he headed to the potions room, his fingers itching for his wand. He knew a fair bit of wand-less magic from learning to survive in the war, but class was bloody difficult without it. "Good evening, Professor." He bit out as he walked in the room and took a seat in front of him.

He looked up from a book and nodded at him, before going back to the book. Gritting his teeth, Draco said nothing; he knew detention did not start until everyone was present. His stomach growled quietly and he wished the witch would hurry up.

As soon as he thought that, the Professor looked up and checked his watch, frowning a bit. "Miss Granger seems to be late. Go see what's taking her so long, Mister Malfoy, the quicker detention is done, the better." Though Draco was annoyed at taking orders he dutifully got up and went to go find the Gryffindor. "And take this," the Professor said, handing back Draco's wand. "I see no need for me to hold on to it any longer as the school day is complete."

Draco turned a corner and headed to the Great Hall, his stomach growling a little more when he smelled the fresh scent of food. He was going to hurt Granger if she had forgotten about detention and was eating at this very moment when he had been waiting for her. Furrowing his eyebrows a little, he re-thought that statement. _No way Granger would do that._ And not to mention she was the Head Girl; she knew how to be responsible.

He scanned the Great Hall for her but as expected, she was not there. _What the hell, Granger?_ He thought, annoyed. _Maybe she's arrived at Potions._ Shaking his head in annoyance, he headed back and then almost laughed out loud at what he saw a yard away from the room's closed doors. Granger; stuck on a trick step.

She had a scowl on her face and arms crossed across her chest with an annoyed expression on her face. He rolled his eyes and thought, _she resembles a child; though her body would have anyone thinking otherwise._

"Malfoy!" She yelled at him, spotting him. He smiled amusedly and took as long as possible to walk over to her; and she noticed. "Wipe that look across your face." She said, her anger and frustration exploding.

"Oh? So am I to assume you don't need any help?" he asked, knowing she would not willingly ask for help.

She huffed and without thinking retorted, "No, Malfoy. I do not need your help. I'm sure someone will pass by soon enough and they'll help me out." She knew she was hanging on a ledge here, but she did not need this insufferable git's help. He was the reason she had detention in the first place for Merlin's sake!

"Really, Granger?" he asked her, enjoying her situation. "Well in that case, I'll just stand here and wait with you."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I know no one will come and eventually you're going to need my help and I want to be the one to watch your annoyed expression when it happens." He said, stating the obvious.

"You are an insufferable-"

"Heard it already," he said cutting her off with a bored sigh. "Don't you have any new insults?" he teased her and she looked up at the ceiling, muttering, "Why me?" causing Malfoy to chuckle.

He leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and a casual smirk on his face. Hermione took this chance to assess him and realized that he was quite handsome. His jaw was more angular and masculine and his shoulders were broad. Though he had that same pale face, it seemed to suit him in contrast to his not-bleached blond hair.

"Give up, yet?" he asked her, and she heard his stomach make a rumbling noise. So, like her, he had not eaten dinner yet. She felt a little sorry for him at first, but then remembered it was his fault they weren't in the Great Hall feasting with everyone.

"No, Malfoy. I'm sure someone will come." She said, somewhat confident. They stood there for another ten minutes when Malfoy stood straight and looked at her.

"This is damn annoying, Granger." He said and stepped up to her and held out his hands. "I don't need you to say you need my help, I just would like to eat and get this detention the hell over with so give me your arms."

She stared at him confused and then put her hands in his. He pulled a little and Hermione heard herself say, "It's my fault as well. I forgot about the trick step, and I should have just admitted that I needed your help in the first place."

After one more tug, Malfoy cursed and took out his wand. "That's all good and well Granger, but we need to get you out; and magic is probably the simplest way; though I'm surprised you haven't mentioned it." _That's probably because in your presence these days I can't think straight. _She thought but bit her lip from saying something as ridiculous as that. Instead, her eyes widened on the wand pointing at her; which Draco noticed. "Calm yourself," He said. "I am not going to hurt you." He cast a single _Wingardium Leviosa_ spell and lifted her out of the step.

Hermione remembered what it felt like when the Death Eaters or Lucius Malfoy himself had tried to use any spell on her: it had frightened her and made her nerves alert so she could block them. But Draco Malfoy using this spell on her felt different; it felt right. _That's just because he doesn't mean any harm with this spell,_ she thought, glad she had thought of an answer that made sense.

"Are you coming or are you just going to stand there?" he asked her impatiently and Hermione realized she had just been standing there thinking. Nodding, she fell into step behind him and they went to endure detention.

In the end, it was not so bad; the detention had been fairly easy and all they had to do was dust the cupboards and label the cabinets, ingredients, and cauldrons. To their dismay however, when they received their wands back they were told that the staff were planning on discussing whether they would still have their Head Positions for the rest of the year.

"So I expect both of you to find your model-behavior and start acting like you are Head Boy and Girl, or the privilege might be taken away from you." he said and they nodded and silently picked up their belongings and left.

They were so caught up that Hermione accidently bumped Draco into the trick step. Hermione stifled a laugh and helped him out. But his feet accidently got caught in their robes and Malfoy stumbled and reached out. Hermione grabbed his shoulders to steady him about to murmur an apology when he took hold of her waist and pulled her flush against him.

She stared up at him, surprised as her stomach flipped with butterflies. His touch on her and his body against hers sent a jolt of electricity through her and she wondered if he felt it too. The way he held her, it felt like she had been held by him before. But that was impossible!

He could feel her curves against him her soft hands on his shoulder made him want to do something he shouldn't. But he couldn't pull away; he felt like they had been in this position before, but that had to be wrong.

"I have to make sure he ate something, Blaise!" came the voice of Pansy Parkinson and they pulled away, both feeling a bit weak. They looked around and saw Pansy and Blaise coming down the steps with Pansy holding a little bowl. "Hello there, Drakie!" Pansy said, pushing past Hermione as if she was not there. "They were having your favorite dessert and I-"

"Not now," he said holding up a hand to her, and met eyes with Hermione, who began to walk away. "I'm feeling a little ill and tired." He said truthfully; all he wanted was to go collapse on a bed and sleep this day away. Pansy gave him a confused and hurt face, which he did not notice and began to walk away, trying to catch up with Hermione. "Maybe some other time," he said, nodding to Blaise for a moment before heading to the Head dorms.

He called out Hermione's name as she went to the portrait, but she did not seem to hear and went into the room. "Hermione!" he called out, rushing in and saw her in the middle of the room.

"Yes?" she asked him as he caught his breath in a second.

"I-…" he stopped, what had he called her name out for anyway? "Never mind," he said, his facial expression turning into a blank mask. "Good night." He said and closed his door.

Hermione sighed and went into the room that was labeled hers. Without even taking a good minute to take in the beautiful room that was hers', she magically changed into something comfortable to sleep in and immediately fell asleep when her head hit the pillow.

**Author's Note: Okay so I'm about to change the summary because I've got a new plot for this story.. Maybe one day I'll write it again with the original plot but for now, bear with me. Sorry if the chappie doesn't have much do you guys have any requests because I'm hitting writer's block a little. Leave me a review to know what you think of the story so far. It would be much appreciated. Sorry for taking solo long to update as well. If anyone's still reading, thank you for reading. :)**

**~Peace out S.N.**


	5. Chapter 5 Mysteries

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. I'm just a muggle -.-

Chapter 5:

They both had trouble going to sleep that night. Tossing, and turning, dreaming about a couple that had died long ago.

Hermione felt like someone had stabbed her and she screamed in pain. Her back was searing! Everything was foggy around her, and she felt like crying. She felt like someone very important had been taken away from her, but this was where she would find him! _If I only knew who I'm looking for,_ she thought subconsciously.

Draco, likewise, felt like he was looking for someone. But he was not in pain like Hermione. He felt a cloth on his head and realized that someone had covered his eyes. He tried to take it off, but found that it had been placed there by a spell and he would not be able to get it off with his bare hands. But he had to get this cloth off of his eyes. He could not see anything! All he could do was sense that there were things around him and cold air blowing on him; it made him shiver.

"Where are you?" Hermione called out in her sleep.

There! He thought he heard something. But when he turned and his arms searched for something solid, he found nothing; just empty air. "Where are you?" he yelled out to the blackness._ Please help me, _a soft voice whispered in his ear. He whirled around again, but felt nothing. What was going on? There had to be someone there!

Hermione felt someone kick her in her backside and fell. She tried to grab something to hold on to, but there was nothing there. She just kept falling; and crying. She felt panic and hysteria bubble up in her. "Please help me!" she called out to anyone who would listen. But no one heard. Suddenly, she felt like the breath was being taken out of her lungs. She couldn't think straight! Where was she? How di-?

"Ah!" Hermione woke up with a gasp. Sitting up, she stared wide-eyed at the room around her. Adrenaline was running in her veins and she sighed, realizing it was just a dream. She took a deep breath and another, trying to calm down. She started adjusting to her surroundings, her breath uneven.

Suddenly, a muffled yell from the room beside her made her jump out of bed and grab her wand. _Malfoy!_ Without thinking, she ran out of her room and to his. When she tried to open his door, she saw that it was locked. _Damn!_ she thought, slamming her side into the door, hoping it would open.

Another scream from Malfoy made her brain start working. "Hang on Malfoy!" Adrenaline was still in her veins and she could not think of another spell to open the door except, "Bombarda!" Debris and plaster flew in her face, and the momentum of the spell knocked her backwards. Quickly, she scrambled up, and ran to his room again. What she saw made her stop. Malfoy was thrashing around in the bed screaming and bunching up his covers. _Looks like he's having a nightmare like me,_ she thought. _Just like I was._

She stood in the doorway for a moment, and moved her hair back and stepped over the broken pieces of the door on the floor. "Ahh!" he cried out, his voice louder this time since she was so close to him.

"Malfoy!" she yelled, grabbing his shoulders. "Wake up!"

Suddenly, he stopped and opened his eyes. He stared at her, wide-eyed.

_Merlin! _She thought looking at the fear in his eyes and sweat on his forehead, neck, and chest. She blinked and then let go of him as he started taking in his surroundings. She sat there near the end of his bed awkwardly while he sat up, all the while trying not to stare at his half-naked body.

He looked around, sighing. Then, realizing that his cheeks were wet, he wiped his tears away. What the bloody hell had he been dreaming about? He looked around the room and realized that someone else was in the room with him. What the- It was Granger! "What are you doing in here?" he asked her in an accusing tone.

For once, she did not stare at him with malice in her eyes. "You were yelling in your sleep," she said, not even looking at him. He noticed she was also as sweaty as him, and (more than usual) her hair was a mess. Though her flushed face made her look sexy not to mention that she was wearing just- _Wait. Why am I even thinking about her?_

"Granger get off my bed, I'm fine." He grunted, looking away from her. She stood up, but she did not leave the room. He raised an eyebrow at her and tried not to look at her night gown. "I don't like breathing the same air as you either so go off into your own room would you?"

She glared at him, a sudden anger flaring in her. _He's not worth my time. _"Next time you have a nightmare, I'll just put a silencing charm on your room and just leave you to you agony you sodden, ungrateful, oaf." She huffed, going back to her room.

The unbearable git! She was trying to help him for Merlin's sake! And he didn't even thank her or even acknowledge that she had helped him! Hermione glared at the ceiling before deciding that wasting any emotion on Malfoy was no point.

She tried going to sleep, but it was not working. After an hour of staring at the ceiling and four walls around her, she decided to get a glass of water.

To her surprise, she saw Malfoy sitting in front of the fire place with- was that Crookshanks he was playing with?

Draco heard someone behind him and he saw Granger walking out of her room. Quickly, he dropped his hand away from the cat and gave it a little glare. The bloody thing decided to be cute and jump on his lap. "Argh! Granger, get this thing away from me," he said trying to push it off.

Hermione chose to ignore him. She got some water, and left back to her room.

"Oy! Are you deaf?" he yelled behind her. Her response was to slam her bedroom door. He sighed. Maybe he had been a little harsh.

He shook his head and then went to go open the common room where he heard someone softly knocking. "Password?" the portrait asked.

"It's alright," Malfoy said, eyeing the girl and letting her come in. Why did girls have to be on time? He knew he had invited her, but he wanted a couple more minutes of peace and quiet.

Before he knew it, the girl was in his bedroom waiting for him. With another sigh, he first repaired the door – courtesy of the lovely Granger – and joined the girl and closed his bedroom door softly behind him.

* * *

"Hey Pansy," whispered a voice. It was Millicent.

Pansy Parkinson was a girl who loved to gossip as much as she liked getting her beauty sleep but she was not sleeping tonight. She was wide awake trying to find the right love potion for a certain Slytherin she had an eye for. But, bloody hell. It was already 1 A.M.; she did not want to look like she was turning into Granger.

Barely looking at her, Pansy barked out, "What?"

"I heard Malfoy asked for Astoria to come to his room just half an hour ago." She whispered, watching Pansy's reaction with interest. Pansy scowled.

"What are you talking about? Why would he do that? He's asleep Bulstrode."

The other girl giggled. "If that's what you think, Pansy. Looks like he's gotten tired of his usual girls for now," Pansy growled, she knew Millicent was referring to her as Draco's 'usual girl'. "Goodnight Pansy," Millicent said with a flip of her hair.

Who did Draco think he was? He was supposed to get married her! Who did he think he was fooling around with other girls? Did he not know that she had been listening to girls' gossip for 7 years now and was getting thoroughly fed up of his games? Annoyed, Pansy shut the book and with a scowl on her face, went to sleep.

* * *

Hermione got out of the shower bright and early, ready for anything today. Thankfully, she hadn't suffered through any more nightmares last night and it seemed that ignoring Malfoy was the way to go.

She knew it was probably too early for him to be awake so she came out of the bathroom with just a cotton robe on. To her surprise, she saw a girl coming out of Malfoy's room. She stood there in shock, hearing Malfoy say something to the girl and then the girl giggled, putting a shirt on.

Hermione blinked. Then, she marched up to the girl.

Malfoy, however laid there in bed unashamed with just a blanket over his lower half. Then, slowly, he looked at her. _Oh shit,_ he thought but before he could do anything Granger was already questioning to Astoria.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Astoria turned and glared at her. It was then that Draco noticed that Granger was just wearing a thin bathrobe. He looked her up and down and decided it was a shame she was not a pureblood. Merlin, he couldn't stop looking at her bum.

"I was just leaving," Astoria huffed and did just that, making sure to wink at Draco before she left.

When the common room door shut behind her, there was a heavy silence in the air. Hermione glared at him. "What do think you're doing inviting people in here late in the morning? I should have docked house points from both of you idiots." She said, and Draco started to glare at her.

But to glare at someone, it is required to look at them. And looking at Granger made his mouth go dry. Her hair was dripping wet, instead of all over the place and it was a good look for her. Even glaring at him, her mouth seemed to be set in a pout and her figure was very visible.

He cleared his throat and looked away. _On second thought,_ he thought and turned back to her with a sleazy smirk. "Granger," he drawled and noticed that she swallowed when he said her name. "How about you give us a chance to put some clothes on and then we can talk. Or do you like talking like this?" he asked gesturing to the blanket on his legs that was doing a bad job of hiding what was between his legs.

Hermione looked to where he was indicating and instantly blushed. Quickly, she looked back up to his grey eyes. "I – um, sure." She said and practically ran away from his room.

Draco watched with pleasure as her tan legs took her back to her room and wished he could summon the bathroom to him; he really didn't want to walk in the condition that he was in. "Dammit," he mumbled, getting up.

While finding her school robes, Hermione couldn't help but think about her nightmare last night. What the hell had been happening? She could barely remember any of it except the feeling of despair. And… she had been crying and searching for someone. But who?

Draco stood in the cold shower, thinking about what just happened. He could not possibly be attracted to _Granger_, could he? The very thought made him shudder. But he could not help but think about how he had taken his time noticing every feature about her a few minutes ago and last night when she had woke him up.

Turning the shower off, he tied a towel around himself and started to fix his hair up.

Speaking of last night… he had woken with tears… ACTUAL TEARS on his face. He could not remember crying since the last time he had been placed under the crutiatus curse. Clenching his jaw and banishing the memory away, he tried thinking about his dream. There had been someone calling for help… and the feeling of being blind. How odd. Was his dream trying to tell him that he was going to become blind one day?

_Ridiculous!_ He shook his head at the thought and put his clothes on and exited the bathroom, ready to face the wrath of Granger. "Granger?" he called out, the common room feeling oddly silent.

Suddenly, he heard a shriek from her room and rushed there. Using a spell to unlock the door, he barged in. What he saw was Hermione sitting on her bed, staring in shock at the mirror. With no black Gryffindor robe on; just a white shirt and a short khaki skirt that had risen up a good portion of her thigh.

Reluctantly dragging his eyes back up to her face, he noticed that she had gone a little pale in the face. "Granger," he said to her, but got no response. "Granger!" he said louder this time and when she still did not look at him, he shook her shoulders. "Hermione!" he barked, hoping he would get a response from that.

She seemed to come out of her revere and stared at him, wide-eyed.

He sighed in relief. If anything had happened to her, the blame would probably go on him. "What's wrong?" he asked her in a surprisingly soft voice.

She seemed to realize that someone was talking to her and looked away from the mirror. "Get off me," she said, her voice very faint.

He looked at her confusedly and gave her a little shake. "What is wrong with you?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. She reached up to take his hands off of her when something bizarre happened.

At her touch, Draco felt a jolt of electricity go through him. Suddenly, he felt as if all his nerves were shutting down except for the ones in his hands. Weirdly, he felt as if he was having an out of body experience, while still in his body looking at Hermione's sparkling eyes.

_Wha-?_ Hermione wondered as she felt her whole body go numb except for the part that was holding Draco's hands. For a split second, she was watching both of them from above, and then looking back into grey eyes. His grey eyes.

"I was so afraid," she heard herself say, but _her mouth wasn't moving!_ Something tingled in Hermione's abdomen and she wanted nothing more than to touch his lips with her own. She craved the feeling of him.

"I'm here now dear," Draco whispered to her, wondering where the hell these words were coming from. All he wanted to do was let go of Granger and go on his way, but his body did not comply. Instead, he brought his head closer to hers and brushed his lips to her forehead in a feather-light kiss.

And then, the spell broke. For a moment, they just looked at each other. Enjoying the company of the other and getting lost in the others' eyes.

Then they broke apart: Hermione scooting back on her bed away from him and Draco springing away from her, almost slamming into the wall behind him.

Draco knew he could not just stand there. He could feel her eyes on him, and knew he had to say something. "I-" he started, but then realized he had no idea what to say. He had no idea what had come over him and he could not exactly admit that to Granger. Without a second glance at her, he bolted from her room. Accio-ing his bag and books to him, he left.

Hermione, however, was not afraid. She was not going to just run away because something unbelievable happened. She knew a mystery when she saw one and this was one mystery he was going to solve.

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, it's been a while. But I realized I can't just leave this story YET. Chance at Light is sort of at the writer's block . soo i thought i would add a new chapter to this. but anyway REVIEW.**

**I got the plot for this going again. so stay with me guys!**

**~Peace out S.N.**


	6. Chapter 6 Pansy has a plan

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Just my plot.

* * *

Chapter 6

He felt as if all the portraits were watching him as he sped to the Great Hall. Usually, most of them looked at him in disgust, but now they just looked at him peculiarly. Ignoring their watching eyes, he speeded up even faster, practically crashing into someone.

"Malfoy," the Weasley said, glaring at him. It was the girl; Potter's girlfriend and youngest ginger. Ignoring the familiar urge to sneer and say something rude, he stepped around her and continued on his way. Despite the fact that people – especially Gryffindors – disliked him, he decided he would not act like a stubborn fool anymore towards them. They had destroyed Voldemort after all and he wouldn't be here without them; especially Potter.

But that did not mean he was going to talk to them, he would just quit with the rude words and speak with them when _absolutely _necessary. But however hard he tried, an accidental word or phrase would slip out. _Especially the word "mudblood"._

"Whatever," he muttered, when the thought of Granger popped into his head… which made him think of what had just happened in the Head Rooms. Arrogantly shoving the thoughts away, he took his usual spot at the Slytherin table. While everyone else could care less about which house table they were supposed to sit at, practically all Slytherins sat at the Slytherin table. The only few exceptions were the first years and second years; they had not been at Hogwarts during the war and most of them had not even attended last year during the war so no one had anything against them.

He had just started on toast when he noticed someone. A little girl – probably a first year – was sitting at the Slytherin table all alone, looking like she had been crying. It was pretty early in the morning and classes didn't start for at least two hours; nobody would notice if he went to comfort her. But wait, since when did he want to comfort scared little first years? _Since you decided to be a better person, you dolt._ A voice in his head accused.

He looked down at his toast, back at the girl and then the people in the Great Hall. _For Merlin's sake who cares what others think? You're Head Boy it should not matter if you're talking to a first year! Your job is to be helping younger ones out._

_No one ever helped me out when I was like that, _He thought suddenly. But as soon as he thought that, he felt guilty. He couldn't blame others for the fact that he had put a wall up around himself.

_Exactly! If that was you, you'd want-_

"Alright, alright," he said, interrupting the nagging voice. _Great, I'm talking to myself now._

Sighing, he got up and sat next to the girl. She did not look up. Unsure of what to do, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked in a weirdly solemn voice.

At this the girl looked up with a little sniff. _So she _had_ been crying._ Even worse! He did not know how console people, especially crying little girls.

"Why are you talking to me?" she asked in a small but angry voice. "I thought all Slytherins were heartless, especially Malfoys."

If he had a Knut every time someone assumed something bad about the Malfoys… Controlling the urge to roll his eyes, he asked, "What makes you think Slytherins are heartless?"

She looked up at him peculiarly. "Slytherins are mean. All of my brothers warned me of that."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "You have brothers that go here? What house are they in?"

"Two of my brothers are in Ravenclaw and one is in Hufflepuff," she told him, her eyes wandering to those tables. "They say Slytherins were horrible to them all the time, especially last year during the war. They were always getting beat up," she had tears in her eyes again.

"Uhh…" Draco was at loss of what to say. What the girl said was true. With Snape as Headmaster, Slytherins had taken that to their advantage to be even nastier than normal. Especially ones with Death Eaters for parents would always beat others up.

"Maybe the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin because it knew that I would be as horrible as t-them one day," she said blubbering at the end, and tears down her cheeks. Draco did not know why, but he felt horrible. "No one in my family has everyone been a Slytherin. They probably all hate m-me an-and think I'm a h-horrible person," she wailed.

Draco sighed and put her head on his shoulder, and with his other arm, handed her a napkin to wipe her tears with and blow her nose. When her tears had turned into small hiccups he handed her a goblet of pumpkin juice. "Here drink this a little, don't worry there's no poison,"

She smiled a little and took the goblet, gladly taking a few sips. Putting it down, she picked her head up off Draco's shoulder and looked at her hands clasped firmly in her lap. "You must think I'm a crybaby. That I don't belong in Slytherin at all."

Before she could start blubbering again, he said, "Everyone has their bad days." He paused while she blew her nose before continuing again. "You're not a crybaby. And don't worry, not all Slytherins are horrible people. And just like you, there are probably some people that don't want to be in Slytherin either. But I'm sure the Sorting Hat didn't put you in here because he thought you would become bad in the future. Slytherins have good qualities too."

"Like what?" she piped up.

"Well…" he started, thoughtful. "We're very clever not to mention cunning. Slytherins are all known for being very sly and sneaky. We always have connections that, in the end, that get us at the top. And just like the other three houses, we're determined to get our way." He looked at her and was surprised to the girl paying attention. "Just like Ravenclaw we're all very smart. And yeah, being mean is a quality many Slytherins have, but it is not a quality that puts you in Slytherin. Besides if you're a Slytherin, no one else messes with you." He said with a smirk, satisfied to see the girl's tearstained face was gone. Mind you, she still looked sad, but not as much as before. Draco mentally congratulated himself.

"I guess," she mumbled.

While he had been talking, he had not noticed the steady stream of students had entered the Great Hall and that it had filled with chatter. Now from his peripheral vision he could see people looking at him and the little girl he was chatting with.

"Maybe you are right but-"

Suddenly he felt rough hands grab on his shoulders and pull him away from the table and the bench. He saw the girl's eyes widen in surprise and he turned to see three young guys around him, all resembling each other and the girl. _Probably the brothers she mentioned_, he thought grimly.

Annoyed, he pulled his arms from their grasp with ease. He was Head Boy dammit not to mention a Malfoy; these fools should have respect for him!

"What do think you're doing?" he spat at them ignoring the itch to brush of the places where they had touched his robe. "Do I need to take away points from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw for violence?" he asked in a steel voice.

"What do you think _you're _doing, Death Eater?" one of the boys sneered at him.

Draco turned to him, his wand immediately at his throat. "What did you just call me?" he hissed in a deathly cold voice. "I don't think you know who you think you're talking to."

* * *

Hermione stared at the reflection in her pumpkin juice cup. It was the same brown eyes, brown hair, and eyebrows scrunched in thought. But just half an hour ago in the mirror… what had that been?

She was going crazy. Putting her head in hands, she massaged her temples and came to the spot where Malfoy had kissed her.

She jerked her head up, feeling a blush come up her neck. But why on Earth had he done that? And what about what she had felt when he had touched her? She had been practically frozen, enchanted by him! Merlin help her! She probably was going crazy.

Just then, she noticed that the Great Hall had quieted down and everybody was rushing trying to see something by the Slytherin tables.

Hermione stood up with everyone else to see what the fuss was about. As Head Girl, if it was a fight she would have to stop it, and since it was by the Slytherin tables, it was her best bet that it was a fight.

But she was not just going to stand here trying to strain her neck to see around the crowd. She had learned much from the war and with a simple spell, she waved her wand and moved everyone to make a small aisle for herself. To her relief, no one really cared that they had been pushed aside. Quickly, she walked through with Harry, Ron, Ginny and Neville following close behind.

When she had reached the tables, she froze. Three boys, a third year Ravenclaw, a fourth year Hufflepuff and a fifth year Ravenclaw were surrounding Malfoy.

Something twisted in her gut. _No!_ A voice in her head yelled. Hermione's eyes widened, looking around her in frenzy. What the bloody- _Please don't let them hurt him._

"Looks like the ferret's getting a taste of his medicine that was long overdue." Ron grumbled beside her. Hermione stared at them, freezing as they circled Malfoy.

"Do I need to take points away?" she heard him say. Well, at least he's not starting the fight. He's acting the way a Head Boy should act. She took that back however, when he suddenly pointed his wand at the eldest Ravenclaw's throat. "What did you call me?" he hissed coldly at the boy, who turned a little pale.

"D-Death Eater!" He spat at Malfoy, not noticing the rage on the latter's face. "Get off me and leave my sister alone!"

_Please! _The voice in Hermione's head yelled again. _Do something!_

"Let go of him Malfoy!" Everyone turned to Cormac, who pointed his wand at Malfoy, his hand shaking slightly. Hermione's eyes darted up surprised to see the professors were not there. "Or I'll be forced to hex you,"

A look crossed Malfoy's face and Hermione thought he was going to surrender when he smirked with a wicked glint in his eyes. "Stop it!" Hermione yelled at them, springing into action. She stepped up to them and pulled the Ravenclaw away from Draco's wand, which he lowered.

She heard Cormac shout a spell but did not have time to cast a shield charm seeing as the Ravenclaw was struggling with her. However, Malfoy was a step ahead of his opponent, and cast a reflection charm, making Cormac's spell backfire. He fell backward, and when he stood up again had a face full of what looked like beestings.

Malfoy smirked and Hermione – to her surprise – found herself relieved. But she caught herself and decided she was just relieved that it had not been a worse spell. The feeling of relief was not because Malfoy was okay. She hardly cared about him.

"Enough!" Hermione yelled, standing in front of Malfoy in case Cormac decided to fire anymore spells.

Draco was shocked when Granger came to stand in front of him as if – as if she was defending him! Had hell frozen over as well? When the toe rag that had tried to curse him put his wand down, Granger turned to look at him. Ignoring the relieved look in her eyes, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'll deal with you later," she hissed at him so only he and a spare two or three could hear. Turning back to the Ravenclaw she said, "Apologize." Pointing at Malfoy.

"What? I didn't-" The Ravenclaw started but Hermione glared at him.

"You called him a Death Eater." She said and heard Malfoy shift behind her. "Ten points from Ravenclaw for that. Last time I checked, ever since the war, there have been none that are not at Azkaban presently. I do not think he would be here right now if he was what you called him." The boy huffed. "Now, apologize."

The boy looked at Malfoy annoyed. "Sorry," he mumbled. Malfoy said nothing but glare at him pointedly, not the most forgiving person. "But you listen here!" He said turning to Hermione. "He was harassing my little sister!" he said and his brothers nodded while all eyes landed on the little girl.

"Excuse me, but what is going here?" a voice asked and everyone turned to see the Headmistress. There was a lot of mumbling as everyone shuffled away from Professor McGonagall. Nobody said anything for a moment, just looking at each other, not knowing how to explain. McGonagall narrowed her eyes at them and turned to the little girl Malfoy had been talking to. "Was Mister Malfoy harassing you?" she asked her.

She shook her head no. "He was just explaining something to me," she said, frowning at her brothers' actions. Their mouths hung open before they promptly closed them, refusing to meet eyes with anyone.

"I see," McGonagall said with a sharp nod. Looking at Cormac, she told him to go to the Hospital Wing to get rid of what was on his face. She then turned to the boys. "I expect you all to apologize to Mister Malfoy. Five points each from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."

"But Professor she already-"

McGonagall glared at the brother that had spoken up and he immediately stopped talking. "And if I hear any more commotion out of you four," she said, giving Malfoy a glance as well. "None of you will be playing quidditch and will get detention with Professor Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest. Do I make myself clear?"

Draco nodded while the three boys echoed, "Yes, Professor."

"Now, about those apologies."

* * *

Pansy glared at the three fools who had insulted Draco. How dare they! She would have to make a potion for them as well maybe… She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Finding the right potion for Granger had already taken so much effort. No way was she going to make any more.

And she still had so much to do, she thought looking at the page in the book. Just looking at all the ingredients and steps make her dizzy. But at least she had found the spell; it's purpose was to make Draco and Hermione hate each other forever.

Well…maybe not forever, but long enough to give Pansy enough time to slip Draco a potion so that he would like HER not some mudblood.

"Still not chasing after my best mate, are you?" Blaise asked, watching Pansy ogle Draco as she had been doing the past 5 minutes.

"Not that it's any of your business," she sniffed at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, what do you have there?" asked a voice on his right side. He turned to see that Astoria Greengrass had seated herself beside him. She was eyeing the big scroll of parchment in Pansy's hand.

Pansy smiled an evil smile and said, "My secret weapon,"

Oh Merlin, Draco was going to need someone to warn him, Blaise thought, watching his best friend's eyes drift to Granger.

* * *

During her free period, Hermione finished writing the schedules for the prefects and decided to visit the library.

She was not interested in writing boring essays at this moment, she was more curious to know what had happened this morning with her and Draco. Now, she had a hunch, but she had to know for sure; and what to do about it.

As usual, Madame Pince was sitting behind her desk, curled up with a novel. Hermione envied her sometimes. She had this whole amazing library, practically all to herself. Although Hermione thought being a librarian would be nice, it was not for her. She could barely sit still thanks to all the anxiety from the war last year.

"Excuse me, Madame Pince?" she asked quietly.

The librarian looked up and smiled. "Hermione! How good to see you dear, is there something you need help with?"

Hermione smiled. "It's good to see you too Madame. And yes, I was wondering if we carry any books around about spirits?"

The librarian paled and her smile fell. "Excuse me?" She asked. "What would you need a book like that for?"

Hermione frowned; Madame Pince did not usually ask questions. "Um… just a little research I'm doing. I believe they could be related to-"

"I'll have to stop you there Ms. Granger. I know nothing about t-those kinds of books with that in-information. Now, please, I have something to do." Hermione blinked. Had Madame Pince just dismissed her?

"But Madame I-" The librarian turned away from her and shakily walked into the room behind her desk. Hermione gaped at her retreating figure. "Madame PINCE!" She yelled, but the librarian did not turn around.

She tried a couple more times but the librarian did not come back. Hermione walked back to a table in the back feeling hollow. Madame Pince always helped anyone that wanted to know about anything… but why had she acted so shocked all of a sudden?

Hermione put her head in her hands. She would need help.

Harry walked into the library, and as usual it was quiet. Hermione had told him what had happened when she had asked the librarian about a certain topic. While the librarian might not have told Hermione, she would probably tell him. He eyed Hermione who had disguised herself the muggle-way with a long-tan coat, sunglasses, and a hat. He shook his head. Why did everyone think that was not suspicious? Especially in Hogwarts?

Hermione watched Harry walk up to Madame Pince from the top of the book she was reading, not even noticing it was upside down.

"Oy, Granger!" A voice said and without caring who it was, she pulled the person down and quickly and hid them and herself under the table because Madame Pince had just looked their way.

To her surprise, the person that she tried to drag refused to budge. Annoyed, she stared up to see Malfoy. Luckily, she saw that Harry was talking to Madame Pince and she was not freaking out.

"What are you crazy?" she hissed up at Malfoy. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're the bloody crazy one Granger, what are you wearing?" He asked – no practically yelled at her. She glared at him, hoping Madame Pince hadn't heard. When she opened her mouth to tell him to shut up, he interrupted her by holding up a hand. He would not stand here and argue with her while she looked like a fool trying to squat under the library table with an awful get up – probably muggle made. "Spare me the boring details Granger, I do not want to know. I just need that book in your hand that you are obviously not reading."

Hermione blinked. "Oh," she said.

Suddenly, "Ms. Granger!" called a voice behind her making her hit her head on the table. She came out from underneath the table to see Madame Pince with Harry trailing behind her. "Did you put Mr. Potter up to this?"

Hermione looked at Harry who was trying to get Madame Pince's attention off of Hermione. And Malfoy was just standing there with a slight smile and waiting for the book in Granger's hands. She gritted her teeth; this was his entire fault that she had been noticed!

"Well Ms. Granger? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Um…"

"Really Ms. Pince, I was just asking for myself because in my first year-"

"Enough, Mr. Potter!" Ms. Pince interrupted loudly and everyone turned to look at them. Hermione could feel her cheeks going hot. "Ms. Granger if you are not doing any studying or researching in the library I'm going to have to ask to leave." She said sternly.

Hermione's mouth fell open. "I – I – Madame Pince –"

"I'm waiting Ms. Granger." She said, and Hermione had no choice but to leave the library.

"Granger!" Malfoy called behind her and Hermione was reminded that she had the book that he needed. Suddenly she got an idea.

"Madame Pince, I actually wanted to check this book out," Hermione said, and with a satisfied smirk watched Malfoy's eyes narrow as she walked to the librarian's desk to get the book he wanted. She could feel his eyes on her as she exited the library; her plan for sort of-kind of-revenge was working perfectly.

…...

Pansy gritted her teeth as Granger shot Draco a smirk and flipped her hair. Was she FLIRTING WITH HIM? The quill she had been holding snapped. With anger, she watched Draco watch Granger exit the library. He then proceeded to follow her.

Pansy immediately went to him. He could not possibly be after HER could he? How dare he do such a thing? "Draco," she said, laying a hand on his arm and batting her eyelashes. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

He looked at her for a moment then back to the door that Granger had just left from. "I have something to do," he said distractedly and prying her arm off of him. "Maybe later,"

"But Drakie-!" she pouted, trying to catch up with him, but his strides were much longer.

And then realization sank in. He had just walked away from her. For BLOODY GRANGER. Oh she was going to pay. That potion would be done tonight. No doubt about that. And, just to make sure that Draco would always be hers…

"Blaise!" she said eyeing him in a corner trying to study.

He looked up and politely nodded at her. "Pansy," she smiled at him. "What's up?"

Without asking, she took a seat beside him and put on her most sad face. "It's Drakie," she said softly. "He's in love with the Granger girl."

As expected, Blaise's eyes widened and he stood up, a shocked expression on his face. "What?" he exclaimed, loud enough to have heads turn their way and people to glare at them. But Blaise couldn't care less. "He- you- No!"

Pansy ignored the urge to roll her eyes. Quickly, she grabbed on his arm and tried to get him to sit down. "Blaise hush! Do you want the whole world to know?" He frowned; he couldn't believe it. "He didn't tell you?" Pansy asked in a comforting voice when he sat back down. Blaise shook his head no.

"I just can't believe this." He said in a somewhat hollow voice. "He hates her. She hates him. There's no way… except maybe…" Suddenly he stood up and yelled, "Yes!" Pansy stared at him alarmed; maybe it would've been a better idea to tell a girl. _Too late now, _she thought. "I've got it! She cast a love potion or spell on him!" he said with a smirk on his face. More people turned to look; most of them curious now. "That wench! I have to go tell the Head Mistress! It's probably against school rules! She'll get punishment and-" Pansy realized she had to stop him before it got out of hand.

Putting a hand on his arm again, she abruptly jerked him back down to the table. "Blaise hush! This is a library! But anyway, I highly doubt it's a love potion." She said.

He looked at her dubiously. "What makes you so sure?"

Pansy racked her brain for a plausible reason. "Um… because he- he told his mum!"

Blaise looked at her like she was crazy. "What? Pansy have you gone mad?"

"Listen," she said, knowing that she did sound a little crazy. "It just kind of slipped out on accident and –"

"Draco would never let anything just _slip out_ Pansy." Blaise said, narrowing his eyes at her. "He –"

Pansy waved his argument away. "You know how people are always different when they are in love," she argued. _At least I hope they are,_ she thought. Blaise nodded, but he still looked like he was suspicious of her. "Anyway, it's his mum Blaise! If anyone, he had to at least tell her! But the point is that she doesn't approve! So Draco is highly upset that he's even talking to her in public. Haven't you noticed how he's always looking at her these days and talking to her and-?"

"Pansy," Blaise said with a sort of relieved smile. "Pansy, they share a common room together. They are bound to have some sort of truce or at least friendship." Pansy opened her mouth, but could not think of anything to say. "Really Pansy, you're overreacting. They're not in love."

"Blaise they are! He told me so himself!" she said. Blaise looked at her dubiously. "And he's very much in love with her that he would even run away from his mum and Malfoy Manor to be with her!" Pansy had no idea where these words were coming from, but they just did not seem to stop. She lowered her voice and used a concerned tone. "I'm worried about him Blaise," she said softly. "She's bad for him. And I've tried to convince him of that… but he just will not listen. And I was hoping…" she trailed off batting her eyes at Blaise. "Maybe you could try to convince him otherwise…?"

Now Blaise knew it was a trick. He had been going to school with Parkinson for 8 years now and whenever she batted her eyes, it meant she was desperate. She thought she could fool him! But what would she accomplish trying to brainwash him that Granger and Draco were in love?

"I mean, you are his best mate. He rarely talks to anyone else besides you and Granger these days," she said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"I- um sure." He said, just wanting Pansy to get away from him.

"Oh, thank you Blaise! I know you'll be able to talk some sense in him!" she said with a smile, walking away. Blaise just shook his head with a sigh, turning back to his Ancient Ruins essay. "Oh!" she said, coming back. "Don't tell him I said any of this. He might get mad; he told me to keep it a secret."

"I see," said Blaise knowing it was a lie.

"Just tell him that you noticed he might be fanaticizing about Granger and that it's no good for him," Blaise nodded, not planning to do any of what she was saying. "Thank you Blaise!" she called over her shoulder.

She smiled to herself as she took out the piece of paper that had the potion on it. Telling Blaise to talk to Draco would put some sense in his mind. Then when her potion worked, everything would be okay. Her plan would be perfect.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry the ending's kinda rushed but... **Whoa. 12 pages on Microsoft word.** My longest chapter yet. Hope you all are enjoying summer and everything! Don't forget to leave a **review**! They make me happy! I'm really pleased with the way my story is going so far. Hopefully it'll be finished by the end of the year to the middle of next year. (Hopefully because you guys know how long I take to update sometimes. :P)

And if you have not ever seen "Spirited Away" I suggest you go see it! It's so awesome and then you should read fanfictions about it! They are absolutely amazing! One of them I'm reading is called Trust and it is just very good! Check it out.

And **OMG** Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was AMAZING! I saw it in 3D and it was super awesome! And Alan Rickman was such an amazing actor! I swear he deserves all of the awards! Did you guys see the movie yet?

Oh! And Ramadan Mubarak everyone! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**Chapter 7**

Hermione knew he was following her because she could hear his footsteps as she walked toward Gryffindor common rooms. Briefly she looked at the book she had checked out titled "History of the Pixies". She smiled; she had read this before and the other day because they had been asked to read this by their Ancient Ruins Professor. It looked like Malfoy had some homework to do, which would work to her advantage.

As she turned the corner, he had caught up to her. "Granger," he said and she turned to him. "What is your problem?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I do not know what you are talking about,"

"Do not act like a fool Granger. I asked you for that book when I noticed you were not using it."

She smirked, irritating him. "Well, it turns out that I need it. So if you will excuse me," she said, continuing on her way. Draco thought about following her but then decided against it. She could use that book if she wanted to, he would just get it from her later. Playing dumb games with her was not worth his time.

Hermione was surprised when she heard him walking away from her. She thought he would have really wanted this book and she would have asked him to ask Madame Pince about the book she really needed. Oddly, as she continued on her way, she realized she was feeling disappointed as well.

The idea of that was such a shock to her that she stopped in the hallway. Disappointed? She questioned her thoughts then dismissed the idea. Why on earth would she be disappointed? About Malfoy for all people?

Laughing at herself for thinking of something so silly, she continued to Gryffindor tower, wondering if she would see Malfoy in their dorms so she could ask him to talk to Madame Pince for her. She went up to the girls' dorms but then remembered that Ginny was in class because she did not have a free period. Sighing, she was about to leave when she saw a mirror hanging on the wall. Remembering what had happened this morning, she went up to the mirror to check her reflection.

When she had checked it earlier, she had not seen herself. Instead, she saw a girl with curly brown hair and brown eyes that were practically bulging out of her head. She had seen blood all over her face and snakes squeezing her neck! The first thing she had done was scream, and that had been when Malfoy had found her.

Shuddering, Hermione stepped up to the mirror expecting to see that same face. Instead what stared back at her was her normal face.

She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, stepping away from the mirror. What was wrong with her that her eyes had started playing tricks on her?

* * *

Malfoy petted the owl that was holding a letter. It squawked in reply and held its leg out so he could take the letter. Draco watched it groom itself and remembered when he was young, that owls had frightened him. He had made the mistake of telling Lucius once and he laughed at him. Draco still remembered Lucius's face of disgust and his voice after he had stopped laughing, "You're pathetic, Malfoys are not afraid of anything." At times when he was having trouble with life, he would hear the cold laughter in his ears. It always made him angry enough to overcome the task.

Willing the thoughts away, he opened the letter.

It was from his mother. He read through it quickly. The letters were mostly the same: She would ask him about school, about Pansy and how much she missed him. And she would never forget to write that she loved him. That was one thing that almost made him smile in these letters, that at least one person cared for him.

What shocked him as he read through the letter was that she said that she wanted to visit Lucius in Azkaban. Draco stared at that sentence for a long time. He didn't know how he should respond. All he could see was his mother walking in Azkaban with dozens of bloody Death Eaters following her every move. No way would he let her go!

Shutting his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. When he inhaled though, he smelled something faintly like roses. Frowning, he stepped out of his room checking if Granger had come back. However, the common room was just as silent as it had been 15 minutes ago.

'What the hell is wrong with me?' He wondered as he collapsed on his bed. It was probably Astoria's perfume lingering in the air from earlier this morning. However, he did not think it could be.

After just staring at the ceiling, he could not shake the feeling that the smell of roses signified something special. He just could not figure out what.

* * *

Pansy gritted her teeth in annoyance as filthy Granger answered yet another question correctly and Professor Revere awarded Gryffindor another 2 points. It had been a week since Granger and Draco's fight in here, and even though they weren't talking together, they were not bickering with each other either. It irritated her to no end.

"Blaise," Pansy hissed to her partner, while pretending to take notes.

"What?" he whispered back.

"Have you talked to Draco?" When he nodded, she clarified, "About Granger?"

Blaise sighed. "Pansy he's not in love with Granger."

"Did he tell you that himself?" she asked, and repeated her question when he did not answer immediately.

Blaise was about to say something when Professor Revere turned his attention to Pansy. "And do you know what the side effects of adding too much Peruvianbaed is Miss Parkinson?" he asked even though Granger had just said the answer, but she had not been listening.

"No, Professor." Pansy frowned as the golden trio snickered.

"And you Mister Zabiini?"

"Usually the opposite of what you want the potion to do, or extreme effects of the potion." he replied, not glancing at Pansy whose frown had deepened.

"Well I'm glad one of you is paying attention. Thank you, Mister Zabiini." he said turning away. "Now I'm sure Miss Parkinson, you've read the chapter last night I assigned in the book yesterday?" Not knowing what else to do, she nodded. "Well then, since I've been explaining the potion this whole lesson, I'm sure you'd like to accompany me in completing the potion." he said, going to the front of the class where a cauldron was sitting. Never had Pansy wished that Snape taught potions; he would have never made her do this. "Come, Miss Parkinson, there's only about 10 minutes left in class." he said and Pansy reluctantly got up.

"Alright, while I prepare the leaves why don't you go get the draught that we need." he smiled at her.

Turning to the jars of draught, she grabbed one at random, hoping it was correct. "Pansy, you don't want that one." Granger said to her, obviously trying to hold back a laugh.

"No, no Miss Granger, I'm sure she can do it on her own. Afterall, she did read the chapter about how to make this plantgrowth potion."

At the mention of that, Pansy grabbed the growing draught.

"Thank you," he said and poured half of it in the cauldron. Then he handed her the Peruvianbaed. "Why don't you put the correct amount in?" he said crossing his arms and Pansy swallowed her pride and broke half if it and dropped it in, stirring. Suddenly, without warning the cauldron blew up in her face. Many people gasped but most of them laughed.

"Well Miss Parkinson, this is what happens when you don't pay attention in class."

Pansy wanted to strangle him.


	8. Chapter 8 Truce

WHOP 8

Chapter 8

"Alright Granger, enough of your games just give me the book." Draco said, catching Hermione outside of the Great Hall.

Hermione frowned at him. "Didn't I tell you I was using it?"

Draco looked at the ceiling, cursing the universe responsible for making him talk to Hermione. Not only was it beneath him to ask for help, but there was still that air of chemistry between them because of the other day. And it made things incredibly awkward for him. "Fine," he said with a sigh. "I know you hate me because I'm rude and everything. But I would appreciate it if you got over yourself and let me use the book to do my work. I will give it back to you in an hour." _That's as close to an apology as she's going to get from me._

Hermione squinted at him, wondering what he was thinking. "Was that supposed to be you being friendly to me?" she asked."Because you do a very poor job of it."

Draco glared in annoyance. "I suppose since we have to work with each other this whole year I should at least pretend to respect you."

Even though Hermione wanted to walk away because that was the stupidest thing she had ever heard, she nodded. "Okay, but first I need you do to something for me. I need you to go ask Madame Pince if we have any books on spirits?"

"What? Like ghosts?" Draco asked, wondering why Hermione would need such a thing.

"No, I mean spirits. Like souls of dead people that might have the ability to take over a body."

Draco could practically see the wheels in Hermione's head working and it scared him that he could read her face so well. She was like an open book. Did she never learn to keep any thoughts to herself?

"Yes, fine." He said at last, lowering his gaze from her eyes. "I'll meet you back in our common room in half an hour." He said, heading in the direction of the library.

Hermione smiled; maybe Malfoy could get something out of Madame Pince.

From inside library, Pansy grinned at the paper before her. This would be the perfect potion for Draco to not be friends with Hermione. She began to write everything on a piece of paper, but when she put the book back she did not notice Peeves rearrange some of the numbers on her list.

* * *

"No luck," Draco said, entering the common room.

Hermione sighed and held out the book Draco needed. "Thanks anyway."

Draco began to walk away but curiosity got the better of him, "So what did you need it for anyway?"

"Remember when I screamed the other day?" Hermione asked. "And you came to my room… and that thing happened?" Draco nodded. "I screamed because I saw someone in the mirror that looked like me but had blood all over. And then with you, I know you would never kiss me so I'm pretty sure spirits are the cause."

"You think dead people have taken control of our bodies?" he asked. "But we're fine right now. There's no one controlling me to talk to you."

"I have no idea what else it could be, and seeing as Madame Pince is of no help …"

"I have some books," Draco said suddenly. He did not totally believe Hermione's idea, but it was something. He never wanted to kiss Hermione – okay maybe never was a strong word. \

"You do?" Hermione asked, breaking his train of thought. "Where?"

"Back at the manor; I'm going to visit this weekend and I should be able to bring some back."

"The manor?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow. "We're not allowed to leave Hogwarts unless it's for Christmas. How would you get there?"

"Everyone else may not be allowed to leave Hogwarts, Granger. But I'm Draco Malfoy; I do what I want." He said with a smirk.

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. In the end she didn't really care where he got the books; she just hoped they would be of some help.

Pansy smiled as Draco obliviously sat next to her. When she got the chance she splashed the potion in his cup. "Here you go, Draco. The fruit punch is great."

"Thanks," he said accepting the cup. He blinked for a moment, wondering why the drink tasted sour. "I think I'm full," he said getting up, having lost his appetite.

"I'll come with you," Pansy said, also getting up. She wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be nice to Hermione anymore.

Eventually Draco reached the common room and was rid of Pansy, who briefly kissed him on the cheek. Draco did not return her affection and hoped she would learn to leave him be.

Meanwhile, Hermione was in her room cleaning when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. When she opened it and saw who was on the other side, she immediately tried to close it. Unfortunately, Draco put his leg between the door before Hermione had a chance. "What?" she exclaimed as he walked in – shirtless.

* * *

A/N: WOOOHOOO Pansy's plan is finally in action! What do you guys think is going on? ;)


	9. Chapter 9 - Of smells and love

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters.

Chapter 9

Hermione thought he was drunk or something, but his eyes did not look red or sluggish, he just looked paler than normal. "Hermione..." he whispered, sending shivers up her spine.

"M-Malfoy." she stuttered and tried to push him back but to no avail. She had no choice but to let him in. "What do you think you're doing? This is my room." Hermione tried to sound strong or at least angry, but her voice just came out sounding breathy.

She was about to try and push him again but he growled at her. Suddenly, she found herself tripping over her feet and falling on her bed. And Draco Malfoy looming over her.

Hermione could not help it, but she kept sneaking looks at his naked torse in between trying to think of away to get away from him. She could not think straight; why was Malfoy coming in her room so late at night? And was it that when he looked at her, Hermione's mind short circuited while her nerves were on fire?

The bed sank in as Draco sat on the bed beside her and Hermione felt her heart go double time. The way he was staring at her was like there was no one else in the world but her. And the color of his lips was so inviting. Suddenly he placed his hands on her elbows and pulled her close to him. Hermione panicked for a second thinking he had gone crazy and would rape her or something. She started hysterically beating on his arms and chest, trying to get him away.

"Let go of me, you brute! Malfoy!"

And suddenly his head fell on her chest.

For a second she froze before letting out a squeal. "Aeeaahhh!" To her surprise, he cuddled closer to her. Then she realized that he was also softly snoring. "Wha-?" Surely enough, when she looked down she saw that Malfoy's eyes were closed and his breathing was a little deeper and calmer.

Hermione blinked. Did Malfoy seriously come into her room to scare her half to heaven and then to fall asleep on HER bed?

"The nerve of you." Hermione muttered, poking Malfoy in the cheek. Then she sighed and tried to get out of his grip but he would not budge. Annoyed, she smacked his arm. Then his shoulder. Then his arm again. Then his face. But he would not wake up nor loosen his grip!

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh, wondering if biting him or kicking him would wake him up. But that only led her to stare at his lips once more.

"Get a grip Hermione." she mumbled to herself but it did not stop her from licking her own lips or making her stomach somersault. No, it only made her more aware of where each of Malfoy's fingers were on her shoulders and how hot his head was on her chest. "Wait a minute..." Squirming a little, Hermione found a way to feel his forehead using her lower arm, and realized that he was a little warmer than normal. Squirming again, she moved her head lower to smell his breath. Lavender! She recognized, and decided he'd been drugged. She sighed in relief, maybe he was not crazy after all. Maybe he did not even know what he was doing.

Draco mumbled something and their lips became centimeters close from touching. Hermione froze for a second, but then remembered hat he was asleep. Now she might be the one going crazy.

Tearing her gaze from his lips, Hermione looked at his eyes, which looked so peaceful as he slept. And thinking about that made her yawn and realize that she was also tired. But she could not just sleep like this; in his arms!

_And why not?_ A little voice said in her head making Hermione rolled her eyes.

_Because this is Draco bloody Malfoy. That's why!_

_So? He's asleep. Besides he was the one who came in here anyway. He probably wants to sleep with you._

This caused Hermione to blush like crazy before coming up with a response. It seemed this spirit had an overactive imagination. _We're not friends. We used to be enemies our whole lives. He would never want that._

_Well, what else can you do? It's not like you can get out of his muscular, sexy embrace can you?_

_No I... Wait what did you just-_

_Then there's nothing to do but fall asleep as you two are. Besides you have school in the morning._

_First of all this is not an embrace. He's practically keeping me here against my will! Second of all he may be a bit muscular but he's not-_

_You're the one who was thinking about kissing him. _At this, Hermione started blushing again. _You know it's true. So just go to sleep like that._

Hermione huffed but could not think of anything else to say. So she concentrated on repeating in her head, _Draco Malfoy is not sexy. Draco bloody Malfoy is not sexy. _Stretching her neck back a bit and moving her legs back, Hermione closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

Eight hours later, Draco woke up to aching arms and his pillow rising and falling. Which was weird... And even though he was comfortably warm, there was no blanket around him. And he was holding something...

Picking his head up, Draco froze. There, in his arms was Granger! He was shocked. What the hell was she doing here? In his room? In his arms?

Then he noticed that the room was filled with red and gold colored things. And that Granger was sleeping on a flower pillow. This was her bloody room! What was he doing here?

Quickly, he disentangled himself from her, but not before waking her.

She opened her eyes and Draco watched as the emotions ran across her face. First mild oblivion, then confusion, then realizationg and finally anger.

For a minute it had been shocking silence but then she exploded with, "What the hell is your problem Malfoy?"

"Me?" he exclaimed.

"Yes you! Because of you and your strong grip my neck is all stiff and I had a horrid time trying to fall asleep with you breathing down my chest - literally might I add - and-"

"Wait. Hold on there Granger. I don't even know why I'm-"

But she was not listening, she was grabbing her robe and heading toward the shower all the while saying, "And I know you were poisoned and all but you could have gone to someone else's room! Or, in fact, you could have stayed in your room and-" Then it registered to Draco what she had said. "I hate waking up cranky and it's all your fault."

"Hold on, stop!" Malfoy said, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around before she could enter the bathroom.

They were both breathing hard and standing close enough that their chests were touching, but neither of them moved away. For a second, they just stood there, glaring at each other and trying not to acknowledge the sexual tension in the air.

"Did you say I was drugged?" he asked breaking the silence.

Hermione frowned trying to remember if that was what she had said. "No, I think I said you were poisoned but it's slightly the same."

"How do you know that? Who poisoned me? Was that why I was-?"

"Yes," Hermione sighed, remembering how he had had a fever last night. "That's why you were, erm asleep in my bed." she said slightly embarrassed and not saying the obvious 'with me'. "Don't believe me? Smell your breath."

Draco did as he was told and beyond the usual morning breath, there was a trace of... "Lavender?"

Hermione nodded. "Obviously too much of it. Who ever did this is not so good at potions."

"But why would someone-?"

"Hold on a second," Hermione said, interrupting him and put the back of her hand on his forehead.

"What are doing Granger?" he asked, trying not to think about how her soft arm was resting slightly on his chest.

"Seeing if you still had the fever you had last night - and you don't, which is good. Otherwise you might have been violently ill any second now." She said dropping her hand away from him and he shifted to his other foot, putting some distance between them. Hermione pretended not to notice.

He ran a ran through his already messy hair (courtesy of Hermione playing with it while falling asleep) and sighed. "First the spirits and now this."

Hermione sighed as well. "Why don't we just try to forget it right now and talk about it later in Ancient Ruins, I have to get ready." She suggested, pointing at the bathroom.

Draco nodded and headed to his room where he fell on his bed and tried to think of anything and everything except how last night was probably the nicest sleep he had ever had in Hermione's bed since Voldemort's rise to power.

* * *

As soon as Draco was out of the Heads' common room, Pansy immediately latched on his arm.

"Draco!" she said in a much too lively voice for 7 in the morning. And why was she outside the Heads' common room? Had she been waiting for him this entire time? "I was thinking we would go to breakfast together,"

Draco nodded, vaguely aware of feeling weak. He was probably just hungry.

"So I need some robes and I was thinking of going to Hogsmeade, and I was hoping you would join me this weekend?" she asked him.

"I'm doing something this weekend," he responded wondering why there was a foul smell around them. He looked around, wondering if a Weasel was trying to play a trick on him.

"Draco what are you doing? Did you hear me?" Pansy asked, looking at him like he'd grown another head. Draco stopped looking around and continued into the Great Hall trying to ignore the smell.

"Pans, do you smell anything?"

"Anything like what?" she asked as they neared the Slytherin table. "I did buy a new perfume, the lady said it has a special herb." she said. "Here smell," she brought her neck closer to him and Draco smelled where she pointed at and tried not to gag.

He let go of her immediately and sat down. "That's the smell." he said, annoyed at Pansy. "Why on Earth did you buy it?"

"You don't like it?" she asked eyes wide. "Astoria's mother recommended it to me!"

"Astoria's mother is a fool if she thinks that smells good," he said a bit too harshly.

Pansy scoffed and turned to someone else. "Blaise, smell my neck." He did but did not make a face like Draco's.

"Isn't that some new brand?" he asked vaguely remembering Astoria bragging about it the other day.

"What does it smell like?"

Blaise shrugged. "It smells like good female perfume to me,"

"It doesn't smell bad to you?" Draco asked. He sniffed one more time but the smell had not changed. "It smells horrid to me." Pansy glared at him and went to sit somewhere else.

"Mate what's the matter with you?" Blaise asked as Draco grabbed a bagel. "It smelled good."

Draco shrugged, "It smelled awful to me." As he ate he realized he could still smell it. Maybe it was him. He stood up, grabbing his things. "I'll see you in potions." he said and left. He quickly said the password to the Heads' room and into the shower.

Thankfully Granger was not there. However the bathroom still smelled like her. Draco took a deep breath of the peach shampoo smell as he turned the shower on. Now, Granger's shampoo had a good aroma although he recalled her smelling like roses before. Suddenly, he realized what he was thinking and quickly dismissed the thought.

It did not matter what Granger smelled like. Turning off the shower and drying, he smelled himself. The foul smell was gone. Satisfied, he put on fresh robes and headed outside to Care of Magical Creatures.

Seemingly out of thin air, Astoria appeared and started yapping about how she needed tutoring in this class. He thought he was free of the smell, but then he smelled it again. It was probably that dumb perfume that Pansy was wearing. Annoyed he moved away from Astoria and said he would think about it. The smell seemed to fade away but then when Millicent approached him, he smelled it again. Were all the girls in this school wearing the same perfume?

Sighing, he went to stand beside Blaise, but even he smelled odd. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

By the end of the day, Draco was cranky and snapping at everyone because of that smell. But when he sat down next to Hermione in Ancient Ruins, it was a different story. As he took a breath he realized that she smelled different; good actually. She might have been the only girl who did not use that nasty perfume.

He sighed in relief and relaxed in his chair.

Hermione looked at him in confusion, he had been annoyed the whole day, why was he suddenly so different? And was he smiling? It always made her nervous when Draco was so relaxed.

"Something on my face?" he asked, still smiling.

Hermione blinked. "No I just- well - I'm confused as to why you're so happy all of a sudden. Not that there's anything wrong with you being happy," she said quickly, watching his smile fade.

Their professor came in and Draco sat up a little straighter. "Just glad that the day is over." he said with a small shrug. As class went on, Draco realized that not only did Hermione smell good, she smelled damn amazing. And it was driving him crazy.

"Malfoy, are you okay?" Hermione asked noting that he had a fist clenched around his quill and had not been writing for the past five minutes.

The class was working in groups on a riddle in the textbook. However Hermione and Draco always worked separately and checked each other's work when they finished. But if he was not going to do anything, Hermione was not going to do everything. And the riddle was hard, they would probably get tomorrow to finish the work.

"Yeah." he grumbled, not looking at her.

"Well, did you finish or something?"

Draco tried his very best not to get up and leave the class. Granger smelled too good. Putting a hand under his nose he turned to look at her. She was twirling her hair and the smell of it seemed to be hitting him more strongly. He narrowed his eyes at her hand that was twirling her hair and she stopped, and put her hands in her lap.

"Malfoy, why are you looking at me like that?"

Curse the Professor for making them sit together, Draco thought. The bad smell was better than this torture.

"The thing is Granger, you smell," and then he stopped, realizing what he was about to say: that it - she smelled very good.

Hermione frowned and smelled her hair. It smelled like the shampoo she had used this morning. "What's wrong with it? Is the smell bothering you?"

Draco nodded immediately. "Yeah, it's bothering me."

"Why?" she asked quizzical. "I've always used this shampoo, what's the problem with it today?"

"The problem is... It just... Well, it smells amazing. It makes me just want to reach out and sniff you, that's the problem." he blurted out.

Hermione blinked and then grinned. Draco immediately regretted telling her. She was going to blackmail him with this.

But instead of yelling it to the whole class, she laughed. Not even a small laugh, it was a laugh like he had told her the funniest joke in the world. This annoyed Draco even more.

"You're serious?" she asked, still laughing. "Malfoy, you can't be serious." she said.

Draco frowned at her and then pulled a lock of hair out of her bun. And sniffed it.

Hermione froze as he smelled her hair and closed his eyes in joy. His elbow was resting on her knee and his face was close enough for Hermione to see each individual eyelash. But after a couple of seconds, he snapped his eyes back open and dropped her hair. "Unfortunately, I am very serious." he grumbled trying to ignore how for a brief minute he had felt overjoyed at smelling the muggle born.

And pink blush started to spread over Hermione's cheeks. "You actually think it smells good?"

Sighing, Draco crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes, Granger your hair smells bloody attractive but never ask me to say that again." he hissed. "And what's worse is that he whole day everyone else has smelled horrible. Especially the girls."

"You don't think this could be because of like, what happened last night, do you?" Hermione asked trying not think about the details.

"Or the spirits?" Draco murmured and Hermione's eyes widened. She had forgotten about them!

"Well, I have no way to research about them seeing as the books I need are in your house. But I think we can try to find out what poisoned you."

"How?" Draco asked as their Professor announced class was over and work could be done tomorrow in class.

"If it's powerful enough and still in your system we can ask Madame Pompfrey to check your blood! Maybe she can figure it out." Hermione said gathering her things.

Draco nodded and they both headed to the nurse of Hogwarts.

However, when they got there, they saw there were dozens of students. When Madame Pompfrey saw them, she quickly explained that if they needed anything, they would have to wait because a potion had gone wrong with a handful of third-years.

They sighed and sat in a couple of chairs near the door or the room.

Hermione checked her watch after her stomach had started growling. "I'm going to grab something to eat. It's already 6 p.m." Draco nodded, relieved he would not have to smell her for a bit. He was itching to sit her on his lap and breathe in her scent. "Aren't you coming?" she asked suddenly, breaking him out of his daydream.

"Nah," he said lazily stretching. "I'm not that hungry."

Hermione shrugged and headed to the Great Hall. Most of the Gryffindors were almost done. Harry, Ginny, and Ron were busy discussing Quidditch so they just waved and continued when she said she was busy. She poured some spaghetti in a plate along with some dessert. She was about to leave with that, but then she decided to pour another plate of spaghetti for Malfoy.

When she got back to the infirmary she saw that Madame Pomfrey had about only a handful of people to fix. She'd be done soon, thankfully.

"Here." Hermione said, plopping the plate of spaghetti in Draco's hands.

"What's this?" he asked watching as she sat down next to him.

"Just something to eat," she said, eating some of her dinner. "You're not allergic or anything right?" she asked when she noticed him just watching her eat.

"No. I'm just surprised." Draco said slowly, also eating some. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "I never thought you'd be nice to me after all these years and even now with me acting like a pervert this past week."

Hermione chuckled at the last part. "Yes you being a pervert has not given me any reason to be nice you. But I mean, it's not like it's your fault. First spirits now this potion problem. And it's not like you're enjoying any of this are you?" Hermione asked, trying not to think about Draco shirtless last night and him kissing her forehead.

Draco thought about how wonderful he felt when he awoke this morning with Hermione in his arms, how she felt like she belonged in his arms and just now, she had brought him dinner without him even asking. "No, not enjoying it at all." he lied.

They ate in silence, each lost in thought.

Madame Pompfrey arrived with a sigh. "I swear this is new potions professor... Anyway. What may I help you two with?"

Hermione looked at Draco to see if he would start explaining while she finished dessert. Draco started explaining that last night after dinner he had felt dizzy and when he woke up he was sleeping outside Hermione's door. At this, Hermione began blushing.

"And his breath smelled like lavender, which is a key ingredient in love potions." Hermione added.

"And this whole day everyone has had a foul smell around them except," At this part Draco trailed off, not wanting to admit it.

"Except who Mr. Malfoy?" Madame Pompfrey asked, wondering why he had stopped.

"Granger." he finally muttered glad they were sitting away from other students.

Madame Pompfrey put her hands on her hips. "Well I do not think you would do it but I must ask you Miss Granger, did you give Mister Malfoy a love potion?"

Hermione's eyes went wide and Draco smirked. "No, way!" she exclaimed. "Why would - I mean he's - Me make a love potion for -? No way!" she said quickly blushing the entire time.

"Of course you wouldn't," Madame Pompfrey agreed. "But I too am thinking it's a love potion. If you two would please follow me."

"Besides, if you had given me a love potion Granger, you would have at least got it right," Draco scoffed and Hermione gave him a funny look. "Love potions don't make people wander into someone's room or give them a fever."

"Did you just compliment me?" she asked.

Draco shrugged and looked away, "Probably a side effect of this horrible potion." Hermione nodded in agreement but smiled.

Madame Pompfrey had Draco sit on an infirmary bed and waved her wand around him. "Now I want you to think of Miss Granger." she said.

"Erm excuse me?" he asked.

"Just think of her," she snapped.

Draco quickly looked Hermione up and down and then closed his eyes. He thought of her smell, her unruly hair, how she was just short enough to reach his chin, how she was actually trying to help him, how she dressed properly with no makeup yet still managed to look okay and how wonderful her laugh sounded.

"Alright Mister Malfoy, open your eyes." Draco did so and avoided eye contact with Hermione. "I am afraid you have been affected by a love potion that was not supposed to be a love potion."

Draco and Hermione frowned. "I don't understand," Hermione said.

"It was not supposed to be a love potion." Madame Pompfrey said. "But who ever made it put in the wrong amount of Peruvian bark as well as lavender extract. So the potion backfired and instead is making Mister Malfoy have feelings for you. But I don't know why you and Hermione have been affected by it."

"Well can you get rid of it?" Draco asked.

Madame Pompfrey sighed. "I could, but I used all the mint I need to make a counter potion on the third years."

"So I'm stuck like this?" he asked in disbelief. They had come here so he could be fixed dammit!

"I can cast a charm on you but depending on how horribly made this potion is, it could back fire."

"Back fire how?" Hermione asked.

"Well," Madame Pompfrey started to pace. "It could either make the potion stronger so that Mister Malfoy would be TOTALLY in love with you for a very long time or it would just make it impossible for the two of you to be physically separated but still the potion would cancel out. And if I don't cast the charm you both will stay like this, and the potion will most likely wear off but get stronger as it leaves."

Draco and Hermione were silent. All options sounded unfortunate.

"I'll come back in five minutes to let you decide." she said and covered their area with a curtain.

Draco and Hermione just stared at the place where she just left. "So," Hermione started quietly. "no matter what we're pretty much stuck with each other for a while."

Draco sighed. "I don't want to take the chance of being in love with you. I mean nothing against you, Granger but you being a Gryffindor and all,"

"It's okay," Hermione chuckled. "Slytherins aren't my type anyway." Draco rolled his eyes, he liked it better when they were joking. "And I don't want to take the chance of us being impossible to physically separate because you play Quidditch and I hate flying on brooms." Hermione said.

"So, I guess this means we do nothing." Draco said with a sigh. Hermione nodded. When Madame Pompfrey came back they told her their decision to wait until the potion wore off by itself and she shrugged, seeing as here was nothing else she could do.

"But if the potion gets too strong or something, you can always come and stay here." Madame Pompfrey said and let them leave.

They walked back to the Heads Room in silence, wondering what the future would bring

* * *

When Hermione was getting ready to sleep, she knocked on Draco's door. He answered, thankfully with a shirt on.

"Yes?" he asked with a book in his hand, as he was still working on his homework.

Hermione was having trouble getting the words out. "I um, laid out an inflatable bed near um mine in case that love potion kicks in and you want to um,"

"Sleep with you?" he asked smirking at her. Hermione wished the ground underneath her would just open up. This was so embarrassing.

"And um, just make sure you're wearing clothes."

"Why?" he asked, enjoying seeing her blush.

Hermione glared at him. Of course he would do this.

"Does me being nude scare you?" he teased.

"Oh shove it Malfoy. You're lucky I'm not putting a jinx on my door against uninvited guests." And with one last glare, she left hoping he would stay in his bed tonight.


	10. Chapter 10 The Morning After

Chapter 10

Draco yawned and stretched his legs. But he stopped when his legs touched someone else's. Opening his eyes, he saw Hermione next to him. At first it did not register to him that he should get up. He just lay there looking at her. From her milky skin to her curly mass of hair to her parted lips and to the way her arms were positioned above her head as she stretched. Why am I just noticing all of this now? He wondered. They had been going to the same school since they were eleven years old and he had wasted his time bickering with her when he could have just admired her; maybe even made friends.

That last part jolted Draco out of his thoughts. She was a muggle born. Of course they could never be friends. All these thoughts were foolish. After the effects of the potion died away, he'd be back to normal.

But did he really want that?

Hermione felt someone nudge her leg. It was probably Crookshanks. Deciding she had better get up, Hermione opened her eyes and surprisingly met a pair of grey eyes. For a moment she did not know why the hell Malfoy of all people was in her room, but then she remembered the potion, and that she had invited him in. Hermione became acutely aware of everywhere Malfoy was and how close he was.

She had been camping with Harry and Ron last year and while her school-girl crush with Ron made her heart flutter, that was nothing compared to what she was feeling having Draco Malfoy next to her. Of course, it was the same Draco Malfoy who had bullied her nonstop in the past, enjoyed making crude jokes, and called the Weaselys 'Weasels', but her body just did not seem to get the memo.

"You know Granger," Malfoy said running a hand through his hair. "I don't think I've had a dream about those spirit people for at least two nights."

Hermione thought about it. "Hm. Neither have I," she said. "Maybe they're laying low for a while because I'm catching on to them. Well the one attached to me at least."

"What do mean 'catching on to them'?" Draco asked looking at her.

"I talked to mine." Hermione said turning to look at him. "I guess I forgot to tell you. The other night when you uh, fell asleep on me and uh," Suddenly Hermione took a deep breath. "Just don't laugh at me okay?"

Not knowing what she was talking about Draco said, "Uh, I'll try."

Knowing she was going to regret this Hermione looked at the ceiling feeling vaguely embarrassed. "When you fell asleep on me. I was just sort of, uh, looking at you. And I was getting tired because it was late at night you know, and I was just annoyed. And a voice in my head was just saying stuff like, oh it's not that bad just go sleep with him. And, you know you want to. Which is totally not true. And," she could hear Draco snickering beside her, but she continued. "I talked back, well, _thought back _is more appropriate. But anyway I started explaining how awkward the situation was because you know, we're not really friends and at first I thought it was just me thinking but then the voice was like talking about you being sexy and stuff." Hermione could feel her cheeks go pink. "And I realized, that was not me thinking aloud and I was saying how you are not that sexy and she was like, that does it matter because I was stuck and... Yeah. It was a small, silly conversation."

And silence insured.

Turning, Hermione looked at Draco who looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. And then she realized what a goof she must have seemed like, being all flustered about a small conversation. Which made her start laughing out of embarrassment, which made Draco laugh because he could not hold it in any longer.

"You know what the funny thing is Granger?" Draco asked as their laughter died down. "Is that you thought I would _not_ laugh at that."

Hermione smiled. "Well anyway, yes. It is possible to talk to them."

Draco noticed her ready to get up, but something in him did not want her to leave. He wanted her laying next to him a little longer. "Hey Granger, do I smell like anything to you? Like anything odd or different?"

Hermione thought about it, and shrugged. "You smell like you always have; expensive perfume." Draco nodded, a little deflated that he didn't smell extremely amazing or something. When he didn't say anything else Hermione yawned, and sat up. "Do you want to use the loo first or shall I?"

"Nah, you go ahead. I just want to lay down for a while." There was a creak of Hermione's bed as she got up and left. Draco watched her leave and felt surprised at how natural this felt. The beginning of the year, Draco and Hermione had been ready to go to war.

Shaking his head at how different everything was now, Draco sat up and stretched. Hermione's room smelled just like her. Which reminded him of what everyone else smelled like. He was not looking forward to a day of smelling that horrid smell.

"Bloody potion," he muttered. Which was another thing that was surreal. Had anyone ever told him he might be slipped a love potion that made him attracted toward Hermione Granger, Draco would have them checked for brain injury. And now he was ready to check his own brain.

When Draco was ready and heading out of the Heads Room, Hermione came in. "There you are." she said with a slight smile. "I was hoping to catch you,"

"For what?" Draco asked.

"So I could give you this," Hermione said, holding out a quill to him.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "I already have plenty of quills Granger."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah but I was thinking about you saying how everyone smells awful and I don't." Draco nodded, not yet understanding. "I just thought maybe if I gave you something of mine that was inconspicuous, you could carry it around and you know have a way to, uh not smell everyone that smells bad."

Draco blinked. Why hadn't he thought of that? "No wonder the Weasel and Boy Wonder copy off your homework." he chuckled, but Hermione didn't laugh.

"If you don't want it..." she mumbled, putting away the quill.

"No. Granger, hold on. Let me see that." he said taking the quill out of her hand. He looked at it a moment before smelling it. It took all he had not to sigh in relief, it smelled amazingly just like her.

"Well?" Hermione asked, watching him.

Stupid love potion. Clearing his throat and wiping the small smile off of his face he said, "Uhm, thanks. It smells like you."

"You're welcome," Hermione beamed and headed out.

"Wait!" he called after her.

"Hm?" she asked, turning around.

Not knowing how to phrase it he blurted out, "Why are you so nice?" Hermione looked a bit taken aback. Draco ran a hand through his hair. "Earlier this week you defended me against those Ravenclaws - even though I didn't need it, - yesterday you brought me something to eat and now this."

Hermione gave him a funny smile and shrugged. "I never really thought what I was doing was actually nice. I stood up for you because it was my duty as Head Girl and I brought you food because I thought you might be hungry. Why? Does my being nice scare you?" she teased.

Draco looked at her and her funny smile for a while before answering. It was getting hard not to stare at her lips. "I just - I guess I'm not used to anyone being this nice to me." he shrugged and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well," she said, taking a small step toward him. "I'm mostly a bucket of niceness, so you should get used to it." Draco found himself smiling down at her. "And anyway, I have work to do in the library so I'll see you at Ancient Ruins."

"Until Ancient Ruins then." Draco said in a low voice, running her quill across her face.

Blinking, Hermione nodded, and walked away reminding herself that he was only acting this way because of the potion. If it was not for the potion he probably would not even be talking to her right now.

* * *

The rest of the Friday passed quickly for Draco. However, it was taking forever for Pansy.

She had been trying to talk to Draco all day but he would just make small talk and excuse himself. And now, he had his last class with the mudblood Granger and preventing Pansy from seeing if her potion was working! At least in Potions, Pansy could sit next to Draco and block his view of Granger. But who knew if they were talking or something?

When her class finally ended, she rushed to Draco's class to she if she could catch him walking out. And there he was. With no sign of the mudblood. Pansy let out a sigh of relief and lowered her shirt's neckline a bit.

"Draco!" she said casually. "I didn't know you walked this way."

"My class was just in that hallway." he said barely looking at her.

"Oh yeah, Ancient Rocks or something right? Blaise was telling me about how I should have taken it." Draco just nodded, walking a little faster. "You know the Great Hall is the other way right?" she asked him, having to jog slightly to keep up with him. "Aren't you hungry for some dinner?" she asked as Millicent caught up with them.

"Hello Pansy. Hiiiii Draco," she said fluttering her eye lashes at him. He did not so much as look at her.

At last they had arrived at the library. "If you two don't mind," he said, leaving them at the entrance. Luckily they did not follow him. Scanning the silent hall, he found an empty table and sat down. He could probably grab some dinner from the house elves, as long as he did not have to put up with girls hanging on his every limb, he would be okay.

Draco sighed. What was wrong with him? He had not had a good make-out session this whole week. He always enjoyed attention from girls especially Pansy because she was so easy to please. Now she was starting to annoy him to no end.

Going through his bag Draco fished out the response letter from his mother giving him directions to get out of Hogwarts for the weekend. He would arrive in Malfoy Manor, then go with his mother to Azkaban in the afternoon and Sunday she was planning to have "bonding-time" with Draco. It sounded so ridiculous he assumed it had to be a muggle thing she had heard about.

...

"And you should have seen it, Mione! I was blocking everything Ginny sent at me!" Hermione smiled, it was so cute how Ron's face lit up when he talked about Quidditch. "You know our first match is in two weeks right? Against Ravenclaws,"

"Yes Ron, you told me. And don't worry I'm coming. Why would I miss it?" Hermione said, coming at a stop in front of the Heads Room.

"Sorry Hermione, I'm just a little nervous."

Hermione gave his shoulder a little squeeze. "You'll be amazing, don't worry."

Ron shuffled his feet a little. "So, I'll come get you for Hogsmeade around lunch time tomorrow?"

"Sure, bye Ron." Hermione said waving, but before she could turn to the portrait, Ron stepped close to her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek before promptly turning pink.

"Bye," he said.

"Oh, don't make us vomit." a voice said around the corner and Hermione and Ron look to see an annoyed Draco followed by Pansy.

"Ron, just ignore her." Hermione said, sighing. Ron nodded, and walked away glaring at Pansy and Draco the entire time.

"I bet poor mudblood has never even had a real kiss." Pansy snickered. Hermione waited a heartbeat wondering if Draco would say anything for her but did not. And she chided herself for even thinking that. Of course he would not. Saying the password Hermione went inside, slamming the door behind her.

"Why can't I come inside with you?" Pansy asked wrapping her arms around Draco's torso. The horrid smell hit him hard and he struggled not to push her away immediately. "We could have some fun," she whispered.

"I just don't feel like doing anything like that," he said, making sure to breathe through his mouth.

Pansy pouted. It was okay though, she had almost completed the love potion for him and she was planning on giving it to him tomorrow. She didn't want to annoy him afterall. Going on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" she purred. Draco barely nodded and went inside the Heads Room.

For a moment, the ground swayed under his feet, but he ignored it and headed up the steps to his room. Or he tried to at least.

Hermione was about to pour Crookshanks some more milk when she heard a thud. Turning around, she saw Draco laying facing down on the stairs. "Oh my gosh!" Hermione said and went to the steps. He was not hurt but he was having trouble getting up. "Are you okay?" she asked helping him stand.

"Granger?" he asked. Hermione nodded, hoping he would not fall again. Carefully she guided him to the sofa and had him sit. "Why is it so bloody hot?" he said aloud undoing his tie and some of his buttons. Alarmed, Hermione checked his forehead, sure enough, it was warm.

"Hey, Malfoy." Hermione said, shaking him. "I'm going to get Madame Pompfrey. Okay? Just stay here." She quickly rushed to the door when Draco started calling her name. "What? What's wrong?" she called back.

Pale and sweaty, Draco pointed at his chest. "It hurts when you're so far away."

Hermione stared at him in shock. This sounded like a dialogue that belonged in a romance novel. "What? What hurts?" she asked as she went back to him.

"My chest Granger, it hurts."

"Well, obviously because something is wrong with you! Let me get Madame -"

"I can tell it's because you're moving away from me." For emphasis, he grabbed her arm. "Trust me," he murmured staring at her. "As long as you stay here, as long as you stay close to me I'll be fine."

Hermione sighed. His grey eyes were a bit unnerving. "Alright, okay. I believe you. But I can't just leave you here sick!" _What's wrong with him? _An alarmed voice yelled in Hermione's head. " I don't know,"

Draco squinted at her. "What did you say?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Alright, let me just get you some water." she said, knowing there was a bottle in her bag. Draco nodded and Hermione went to retrieve the bottle. Taking off the cap nervously she said, "I already drank from it so do you want me to find you a glass or-?"

Without answering Draco took the bottle from her hands and drank deeply not even thinking about a glass. If he wasn't so pale and sickly looking, Hermione might have been surprised.

"How about we try to get you to your room?" Hermione asked. "There's at least a pillow and blanket there, you can rest."

Draco nodded and using the sofa as a support he stood up. Slowly he made his way to the stairs and then Hermione started helping even though he refused to lean on her.

"Stop trying to act tough, Malfoy." Hermione sighed. "I won't tell anyone that I helped you walk up some bloody steps." Grudgingly, Draco let her help him.

When they got to the top, they were both worn out. Draco from his sudden illness and Hermione from trying to haul his weight. " Malfoy," Hermione panted. "My room is closer and that inflated bed is still there let's go." Suddenly Draco's head rolled forward and he started to fall. "Malfoy?!" Hermione exclaimed. "Oh no." It looked like he had fainted!

Taking her wand out, Hermione levitated Draco to her room and on the second bed. And then she paced. What could be wrong with him?

Quickly she checked his breath but did not find the strong smell of lavender. So he had not been poisoned again. But then what was it? _Please, do something!_ The voice said in Hermione's head.

"I don't know what's wrong with him!" Hermione said, frustrated.

_Kiss him!_ The voice commanded her.

"What?" Hermione yelled. "What good is that going to do?" Did this spirit not realize Draco had fainted and was seriously ill?

_Of course. I can see it through your eyes! But you have to kiss him!_

"Why?" Hermione asked, she had no desire to ever kiss Draco Malfoy of all people. Okay maybe she had a small desire, but this was not the time! She tried to think of all the spells she knew. Taking a deep breath Hermione sat down, trying to stay calm. "Okay, first thing's first Hermione. Make sure he's still alive." she muttered aloud thinking about a book she had read. Hermione checked his wrist, and sure enough, there was a strong pulse.

_Why won't you just do what I tell you?_ The spirit yelled at her.

"Because I don't know what's wrong with him! What if I kiss him and the same thing happens to me?" Hermione began pacing again. "You need to calm your sexual desires. He could be seriously ill."

"Granger?" Draco said weakly. Surprised, Hermione rushed to him and sat to the edge of the bed.

"Malfoy? Malfoy? It's me, Hermione." But he didn't respond. "Draco!" Hermione yelled, her voice becoming a bit hoarse. She bit her lip, anxiety overcoming her. What could she do?

_Look_, the spirit said. _Once something like this happened to someone I once knew and the way I healed him was by kissing him._

"But how do you know will work again?"

_I don't, but it's worth a try right? Because it worked before -_

Hermione shook her head. "I can't just kiss him!"

_And why not?_

"Because he- It's invading his personal space and what if it makes it worse?"

_But what if it makes it better? He is infected by a love potion for you isn't he? Well I doubt kissing him is going to make him worse. Please, just try._

Hermione bit her lip so hard she drew blood. She knew that she'd regret this but she supposed the spirit was right. She had to try.

Before she could give it more thought, Hermione knelt by his bedside and put her lips on his. At first nothing happened, but then, suddenly, Draco started responding. He started kissing back.

And neither of them pulled away.

A / N where this chapter started so does it end: in Hermione's bedroom. Can I get a review or two? I want to know what you guys are thinking


	11. Chapter 11 Ron or Draco?

Chapter 11

Draco felt like Hermione was leaving a trail of fire everywhere she touched him. One minute he thought he was going to pass out, and the next the thing he knew, Hermione was kissing him and giving him his strength back.

Hermione did not know how, but somehow Draco sat up, lifted her, and she was practically on his lap. All without breaking their kiss. She did not know why this felt so good or even if this was the spirit controlling her. All she knew was she never wanted it to end. She did not even mind when he started to trail his fingers underneath the back of her shirt. It gave her butterflies in her stomach and arousing shivers. She felt like nothing mattered except being as close to Malfoy as she could get.

When they finally broke apart, it was because Draco realized he might go too far. And with Hermione, that would be bad.

They were both breathing hard, with their clothes wrinkled and not looking at each other. Hermione's mind was racing. What in Merlin's name had she been doing? Just because the spirit had told her to kiss Malfoy did not mean she should have started making out with him! What had she been thinking?

_You weren't thinking, obviously. And it's not like you did not enjoy it. And look! He's better! Looks like I was right. _The spirit teased her.

Hermione sighed in frustration and Draco misinterpreted it as her being upset at him. Carefully, so as not to scare her, he eased his lap out from under her legs. "Sorry," Hermione said blushing red and pulling her shirt back down. She felt like a harlot kissing Malfoy like that. How could she have not realized what she was doing?

"What happened?" Draco asked, watching Hermione look anywhere but at him. He did not remember coming up to her room. Had he incited the kissing? If so, Hermione's two best friends would kill him when she decided to tell them about this. But why hadn't Hermione pushed him away? She had been responding as fervently as him.

Hermione did not know how to say it. Every way she phrased the situation in her head sounded bad. But she had to give him some sort of explanation. She could sense him watching her.

Taking a calming breath, Hermione turned to look at him. "Well, you were walking up the stairs and suddenly, you fell. You were so weak I had to help you walk up all of the stairs. And then you sort of fainted so I brought you here," she said gesturing to her bed, blushing again. "And you weren't responding every time I said your name so I panicked."

"So you kissed me?" Draco asked, something resembling humor creeping I to his voice. That did not seem like some Hermione would do.

"No. Well, I didn't really want to at first. The spirit suggested it."

"The spirit suggested you kiss me?" Draco asked, surprised. "I know I'm very attractive but I did not know that applied to ghosts too."

Hermione rolled her eyes. How could he manage to laugh? Hermione just felt hot all over. And awkward. "Funny Malfoy, but yes she did." Draco watched as Hermione tilted her head as she thought. He tried to focus on something else, but his gaze just drifted back to her exposed neck. "She said the last time something like this happened to someone she knew, she kissed the person and they got better."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "And coincidentally it worked on me too."

"Apparently," Hermione said nodding.

"Your lip is bleeding," he said, frowning. He used his thumb to wipe the blood away and Hermione stared at the crimson color, a stark contrast against his skin.

"Maybe that's why it worked," Hermione mused.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't follow."

"Love potions only work on people when someone's DNA, say from a hair strand or blood, is mixed in with the potion. So since the potion is still in your system, maybe when you kissed me, and my blood got into your system, the potion was - for lack of a better word - satisfied. And that made you get better."

Draco nodded. "But I did not ingest anyone else's blood before. Why did I collapse and have that kind of reaction?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Now, that is a good question."

And just like that she was lost in thought. Thinking about how this was all another mystery she needed to solve. But Draco would rather her pay attention to him, which was an odd feeling. It made him feel vulnerable and unbalanced to need someone. Nevertheless, it was better than being ignored. He blamed it on the love potion.

"So how do I kiss Granger?" Draco asked, breaking Hermione out of her thoughts. When she realized what he said, she stared at him shock.

"Excuse me?" she asked. Him saying that made it all the more real and hard to forget.

"You heard me. How. Do. I. Kiss?" Hermione just stared at him, flustered. What kind of question was that? Draco stretched, watching as Hermione eyed his arms. He didn't know why he was flirting with her. It just came as easy to him as insulting her a month ago. "Well, I'll tell you. You kiss much more fiercely than Pansy." At this, Hermione began blushing red yet again. "Or maybe she does too and I just stopped noticing." He shrugged. Draco hated to admit it, but there was something about kissing Hermione that made him not want to stop.

Ignoring the flicker of annoyance of being compared to Pansy, Hermione thought about what he said. "Wait, so did you kiss Pansy today?" Hermione asked.

Draco shrugged. "More like she kissed me. Yeah. Why?" he could practically see the wheels spinning in Hermione's head. "What Granger?"

"Well, since that love potion, you've been attracted to me right?" Draco nodded. "In odd ways too, like you cannot tolerate the way people smell."

"Especially girls that are not you." Draco added, understanding slowly.

"Yes, so maybe kisses from others work like that too."

Draco frowned. "So as long as this unfortunate potion is in my body, I cannot kiss anyone besides you."

Hermione nodded, a little embarrassed at the annoyed face he was making. "Or else you'll be very ill."

Draco sighed.

"Do you kiss girls often?" Hermione asked. She knew girls slept around with him, but still. He was acting like he would not be able to go another day if he could not kiss whomever he wanted.

Draco flashed her a smile. "Jealous Granger?" Hermione glared at him. The arrogant prick. "Don't fret. After that session with you, I won't be kissing anyone else for a while."

_Session?_ Hermione stared at him, aghast. "The nerve of you." she exclaimed. "I saved your life!"

"Would you like to be rewarded with another kiss or something?" he laughed, but quickly stopped when Hermione reached for her wand.

"Get out of my room ferret, or I will hex you out." Hermione threatened. She was getting tired of him.

* * *

The next morning, Draco woke up in Hermione's room on the inflatable bed. They had been up late bickering last night and Draco was not surprised to find Hermione still asleep.

_She's beautiful when she sleeps isn't she?_

Draco frowned. Looks like the spirits had not disappeared after all.

Ignoring the urge to look at Hermione to see how she slept, Draco went to the bathroom to freshen up. When he was ready, he walked out of the school. Since it was early morning, no one noticed him.

When he arrived at the edge of Hogwarts grounds he saw the Portkey. It was a small locket, simple and not particularly noticeable. Counting to three in his head, he touched the locket.

Thousands of colors whizzed past him for a mere second and then stopped. His stomach lurched as the world around him came into focus. Taking a deep breath, he touched the gate of the Malfoy Manor and they moved so he could enter.

After the war, Narcissa and Draco had not returned to the mansion. They had stayed in a villa in Paris and only came back to the manor on the day of Lucius's trial. After he was sentenced, Narcissa suggested she and Draco move back into the mansion but he refused. He liked the villa in Paris, it did not have any trace of Death Eater memories.

But here, even as he walked the path to the manor, Draco remembered everything about last year. When his mother opened the door and hugged him, he felt like it was just yesterday he had seen Voldemort walk through this door.

His mother stepped away from him and smiled, looking him up and down. Draco was used to her asking about his health frequently in her letters. But this time he said it first instead. "Have you been eating well?"

She smiled, "I have. I'm glad you decided to come. It's pretty lonely here."

"No house elves?" Draco asked, beginning to look around the house. It looked very different. And it vaguely smelled like something burnt.

"No, I'd rather not have them any more. I furnished the house though. I'm learning to do more work myself. What do you think?"

Draco walked around. The house was brighter. No more dark curtains and dark furniture. Instead Narcissa had brought in light pink curtains, which had been moved to let the sun in, tan sofas, as well as pictures on the walls.

"It looks great," Draco murmured, impressed. It did not look like a house where countless people had died. "How long did this take you?"

"It took a couple of weeks to find house elves I could hire that didn't mind working for me, but after that, it only took a week." she smiled. "Lucius always loved a dark atmosphere, but I've grown tired of it. It was pretty sad living here. I thought it needed a change." Draco nodded, she understood why he did not want to live here before, so she changed it.

"What do you do all day?"

"Oh, I got this muggle device called a TV. I'll show it later. How about some breakfast?" she asked with a smile and Draco smiled back, nodding. He wanted to enjoy being with his mother, but the house just made his skin crawl.

* * *

Meanwhile in Hogwarts, Hermione awoke to find the inflatable bed empty. She rubbed her eyes, wondering where Malfoy was. They had been arguing last night but she had been pretty sure he had slept in her room.

She shrugged, maybe he had something to do.

As she was brushing her teeth she thought about how weird it was that seeing Malfoy in the morning had become a norm. It definitely was not like this last year. Or a even a week ago. Him being affected by the love potion had changed Hermione's life.

As she headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, she dismissed him from her mind. What mattered now was making a straight face when she saw Ron. She could not let him, or anyone else for that matter, find out that she had snogged Malfoy.

It was not like she and Ron were together or anything. But at the end of last year he had all but professed his love for her. Hunting for horcruxes had brought them together, but spending summer apart hindered what they had. Ron had been busy with his family while Hermione had worked as an assistant to someone in the Ministry. They'd communicated by letters but it was not the same.

And she had a sinking feeling he was having feelings for her again. It was not that she did not like Ron, it was just that she did not want a relationship. It was their last year at Hogwarts, she just wanted to put effort in schoolwork and having fun before everyone went their separate ways.

But she felt like every time she tried explaining that to Ron, he just would see it as being rejected.

_He's not the one for you._

What the spirit said made Hermione trip. _Excuse me?_ She thought back. The spirit was acting like it actually knew Hermione's whole life. Like it actually had a say in who was good for Hermione.

_I may not know this Ron fellow at all. But I do know that he is not the one for you._

_You didn't live my life. You don't know anything._ Hermione thought angrily. She hated when others told her what she should do with her life. Like her opinion didn't matter or something.

When she sat down with her friends, she was still a bit angry. Only Ginny dared talk to her.

"Malfoy do something to you?" she asked Hermione, buttering her toast.

Hermione huffed. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? No, it's not Malfoy."

"Well, something is obviously wrong."

"What makes you think that Ginny?"

Ginny snorted. "Look at your hands. You've been grounding that muffin into the table for the last ten minutes." Sure enough, Hermione looked at her hands and found a smashed muffin.

Embarrassed, she quickly began wiping her hands on a napkin.

"You've been on the edge since Thursday and you didn't even stop by Gryffindor tower last night for our usual Friday-night-fun. What's up?"

Hermione sighed. She had not realized that she forgot to meet Ginny last night. The sooner the love potion was out of Malfoy's system, the better. But she could not tell Ginny that she had forgotten because she had been talking with Malfoy. Even though Hermione was willing to be civil to him, that did not mean everyone else would be too.

"I'm just stressed Gin; about school work. You know how I get."

Ginny gave her a look like she didn't believe that was all, but she let it go. If Hermione did not want to tell her right now, it was okay. "Okay, but you know Ron's going to pester you about it if you're still upset when we go to Hogsmeade."

Hermione sighed. She had forgotten about Hogsmeade. She really wanted to tell Ginny what she was thinking about Ron, but she could not get the words to come out. She may have been sitting with her friends but she felt very lonely.

* * *

Draco and Narcissa were scanned by two wizards before entering Azkaban. It smelled putrid and it was dark everywhere. Above them, Dementors roamed. They were told a million rules which Draco barely listened to. He was mostly distracted by the environment of Azkaban.

Finally, they were allowed to follow a man, Auror Manin, to a cell. All around them, were people yelling. Some about nightmares that Azkaban gave them, some about how they were innocent and others muttering incoherent gibberish.

However, when they reached Lucius, he was silent. He sat there, looking defeated. It didn't even register to him that he had visitors until Narcissa said his name. "Lucius?"

It made Draco sick. Gone was the father who had raised him to stand up straight and be strong. In his place was a broken man.

"Lucius, it's me." Narcissa called out, unfortunately unable to reach through the bars of the cell.

Lucius looked up slowly. His eyes were hollowed out and red, like he'd been crying. His eyes met Draco's and before he realized it, Draco was saying, "Father,"

Lucius looked between Narcissa and Draco for a moment. Realizing that they were looking at him, he got up.

Draco could feel his mother tense beside him, and he knew why. Lucius looked so different. He looked like he had not eaten nor seen the sunshine in years. Yet he'd only been in Azkaban for four months. Afraid Narcissa would start crying, Draco held her hand.

Lucius finally reached them. He was only looking at Narcissa. No one said anything for a while and then Lucius smiled, surprising Draco.

Narcissa, who had been quietly crying, smiled back. She stepped forward, resting her forehead on the cell bars and Lucius did the same from inside of the cell.

"Don't get too close." Auror Manin warned, but it did not matter to Lucius or Narcissa.

Draco could hear Lucius softly whispering, "Cissa," Over and over. During the time when Voldemort had come into power, Draco never saw his parents talking much. And instead of talking, they mostly yelled at each other. But it never occurred to Draco that maybe they had cared for each other once. Before the threat of war.

When Narcissa stopped crying, she said, "I've changed the house. It looks nothing like it used to." There was a hint of pride in her voice.

Lucius nodded. "That's good. Are you going to take up piano again too?" he was looking at Narcissa as if she was the oasis in a desert. Draco did not remember the last time he had seen that look on his father's face.

"No," she said swelling a lump in her throat. "It reminds me too much of you. I am teaching myself to cook though. Did you hear house elves are throwing a revolt and only working for pay?"

Lucius shook his head, still the man who believed elves were born to be slaves. "It's not too hard?"

Narcissa laughed, and all of Azkaban seemed to hush for a moment as her laughter rang against the walls. "Oh believe me, it is hard. You cannot imagine the amount of times I've burnt the pots. But one day maybe I'll be able to make something Draco or I can actually eat."

Lucius chuckled and turned to Draco. "Draco," he said, looking him up and down. "I'm so glad you're safe."

Somehow Draco managed to say, "I'm surprised you're alive. You look as thin as my hair."

Lucius nodded with a grim face. "I'll live."

"Are they feeding you at all?" Narcissa asked, eyeing the Auror.

"I just haven't had an appetite." Lucius replied with a shrug.

Narcissa gave him a concerned look. "You need to eat Lucius."

But he just shrugged again. "What kind of life is this? Why should I eat? Just to live in this cell for the rest of my life? I don't want that kind of life." Draco was stunned. His father never seemed like the type of person to just give up. But now he was saying he'd starve himself because he was stuck in Azkaban. As if he should punish himself for being in here. Draco felt sorry for him.

"Do it for me," Narcissa said suddenly. "For me and Draco." Lucius looked at her and sighed, hating that she had to see him in this broken condition. "You're all we have Lucius." She was crying again, and swiftly wiped away her tears.

"It's lunch time for him now." Auror Manin said quietly. "You can come back another day."

Lucius sighed, his eyes watery. "You two should go. Have lunch or something, I'll eat." Narcissa sniffed, nodding. Draco gave her hand a squeeze as she composed herself. "Draco," Lucius called before they left. "Take care of your mother."

Draco nodded. Even though he was broken, Lucius would always be a family oriented person. And Draco found he could at least be proud of his father for something.

They said nothing on their way home, and after a small bowl of pasta, Narcissa said she would take a nap. Draco didn't mind, it gave him a chance to look for the spirit books and get his mind off of his father.

Thankfully, the only thing Narcissa had changed in the library were the curtains. The books were untouched.

Casting a quick cleaning charm, Draco got the dust off of the books. When he started going through them, he realized he did not really want to. Instead he just picked up a random few that he knew contained information about spirits and sat in his father's chair, leafing through them.

After a while, he was not really doing that either. He just kept seeing his mother and father's faces.

_They looked like they really love each other. It's quite tragic._

Draco sighed, he really just wanted some quiet time, but this was the first chance he had gotten in a long time to communicate with the spirit. _What's tragic?_ He thought back.

_That he has to live there, while your mother has to live here. Without him. _When Draco didn't respond the spirit asked, _Why has he been imprisoned?_

_He... He made some wrong decisions and followed a wrong person. There was a war, in which many people died and my father happened to be on the side that lost. So the side that won imprisoned him for making the wrong decision._

_Do you think he deserves that? Being imprisoned?_

_Draco shrugged. Everyone in Azkaban deserves to be there for what they've done. Why else would they be imprisoned?_

_I think being there has made him a sad man. I think he should at least be allowed to be with his family somehow. You deserve that._

"He killed people," Draco said, no longer just thinking. "People died because of my father. People like me lost their fathers because my father killed them. He can't just be allowed to walk the streets. He can't be trusted." He was surprised to hear sadness in his voice instead of disgust. And he knew his father only followed Voldemort because there was nothing else he could have done. Yet he could do nothing to voice this. And it was not like anyone was willing to care. After the war, anyone who had been on Voldemort's side and was not dead or in Azkaban were shunned from society. Even if Draco tried to plead his father's case, he doubted anyone would listen. He doubted anyone would care.

There was a creak from the door as Narcissa entered. "Oh Draco," she murmured. "I know your father made some wrong decisions, but he's a good man." she sniffed, and Draco felt bad that she had heard him. "He used to be a good man. I know he has not been the best father to you, Draco but- He tried, dear. He was just trying to be there for you the only way he knew how."

Draco sighed. "I know mother. I was just thinking to myself. Don't worry." he said handing her a handkerchief. "I thought you were sleeping anyway,"

She shook her head. "I couldn't sleep. I thought you would like to see the TV. Did I show it to you yet?" she asked, leading him to the living room. "And tell me about Hogwarts. How is everything?"

And so they spent the rest of the day like that. Talking about life and not talking about what was troubling them the most.

* * *

"You want to get some candy?" Ron asked Hermione.

"No thanks. I'm still full from lunch." Hermione said. She just didn't want to be alone at a table right now with Ron.

Ginny and Harry had disappeared somewhere a while ago so now it was just Ron and Hermione. And it was awkward. Hermione had been mostly dodging Ron, but it was difficult, not to mention she was hurting him.

"Do you want to go look in here?" Ron asked, referring to a book shop.

Hermione shrugged. She had been feeling uneasy because she had not seen Malfoy's blonde hair all day. Granted, he was probably with his friends or something, but Hermione kept expecting to see him somewhere.

Thinking of Malfoy gave her an idea. Going into the bookshop, she quickly looked for anything related to spirits.

"So," Ron said, watching Hermione scan the shelves one by one. "looking for anything in particular?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it." Hermione said finding a book. Ron, not knowing what else to do, just watched her.

"You know you have been acting really uh, distracted lately. Is everything okay?" he asked her. Hermione nodded, putting the book back. It was pretty basic. Nothing like actual history or facts about spirits. Nothing like what she was looking for.

"Just school, Ron. As usual." And then, because she was upset that she had not found a good book she asked, "Ron, what do you think about spirits?"

Hermione thought he would shrug and make a dumb joke. Instead he put his hand in his pockets and looked a little past her shoulder.

"I think they're the souls of dead people. This guy was saying that at Fred's funeral. He said Fred, because he loved my family so much, would be watching over us. As a spirit. Almost like a guardian." His voice shook a little and without thinking, Hermione held his hand. "But I don't want Fred to be watching us. I'd want him to, I don't know, do what it is souls do when they die. Anything but just silently watching. What if he gets sad watching us? I know I would."

Hermione smiled. "Well if he is watching, I think he would be happy to know that even though he's gone, you and many others still care for his happiness. Maybe he's watching over to just see you be happy."

Ron looked at her and smiled back. For a second, Hermione forgot that she shouldn't be leading Ron to think they were more than friends.

"Thanks Mione," When he pulled her in a close hug giving her a small kiss on the cheek, Hermione did not resist. Being with Ron was comfortable, easy. It did not involve silly arguments, or keeping secrets from her friends. Maybe she was just over thinking as usual.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N : First off** thank you** for all the lovely reviews! Gosh I was intending for this story to be humorous. When did it get so serious? Oh and the last chapter was a Saturday (for those keeping track). I've skipped Sunday because well... The story must go on.

* * *

Chapter 12

When Hermione woke up Monday morning, it was to a warm bed. Surprised, she turned to see Draco, who was staring at the ceiling. Even though the inflatable bed was laid out, he was mostly sprawled on Hermione's bed causing her knees to rest on his legs. "Hey," she murmured, half asleep.

He turned to her, his tired eyes showing he had been awake for a while. "Hello."

"How long have you been in my room?" she asked.

Draco shrugged. "I got back to Hogwarts around midnight. You were asleep so you didn't notice."

That's right. She had not seen his blond head the whole weekend. "Where were you yesterday and the day before?"

He turned back to the ceiling. "I thought I told you. I had to do something with my mother that required being off campus."

Hermione frowned. Why did it seem like his voice was a little hard? And was the ceiling really that interesting? "Uh, are you okay?" she asked, starting to stretch. He shrugged but did not say anything._ Fine_, Hermione thought. If he wanted to be aloof then let him, she had things to do.

As Hermione got ready, Draco was still laying down - now all over Hermione's bed - and still looking at the ceiling. A bit stung that he wasn't even looking at her, she left for breakfast. She chatted a bit with Ginny, but her mind kept drifting back to Draco, and why he was acting so odd.

Realizing that she had forgotten to get a book, she quickly went back to the Heads Room, slightly hoping Draco would still be there. And he was, still on the bed. She thought about leaving him there, but then her duty as Head Girl won out.

Quietly she sat down on the edge of the bed, watching him. He had his hands under his head as he stared up, and his biceps showed. Cautiously, she traced small circles on his arms where they looked tense. His arms immediately relaxed, and he turned to look at her. He was obviously stressed about something.

She put her hands together in her lap and said, "You need to get up and go to class." He nodded, sighing. As he got up, Hermione watched him and asked. "Is there something that's on your mind?"

He shook his head, said a quiet, "Nope," and headed to the bathroom. Hermione sighed, well even if he would not tell her, at least she had accomplished getting him out of bed.

* * *

Pansy sat in the back of the potions classroom leafing through the book while Professor Ravere droned on about flowers or something. After watching Draco she realized that her potion had not worked. While Granger and Draco might not have been best friends, they seemed to be acting civil. And that was not good. They shared a dorm room together, who knew what they were doing?

This called for a new plan of action: A love potion. So she and Draco could become closer. Smiling to herself, Pansy searched the book for a specific potion.

"All right." Professor Ravere said, walking around the class. "I'm sure you all are well rested and ready to do some work." He clapped his hands together, waking the male students who had been dozing off. (Most the females were busy ogling his good looks.) "I've set up groups of four for the Hortus potion. When I call you, you will go sit with your group." He said and got out a paper with a list of names. "First group: Zabini, Greengrass, Potter and Parvati Patil. Second group: Granger, Weasely, Malfoy, and Parkinson. Third group: Longbottom, Padma Patil, Finnigan, and McNair. Fourth group..."

Pansy had stopped listening. She had to work in a group with know-it-all Granger? This was just torture. Huffing, she went to sit where the other three had gathered. Fortunately she got to sit near Draco not Granger.

"Hermione, this is going to suck." Ron whispered to her. She patted his arm, thinking the same thing.

"So," she said addressing the group. Draco looked at her with a bored expression, Ron was staring into space, and Pansy was busy studying her nails. This was going to be a lot of work. "Professor was saying that today we should plan. So what ideas do you guys have for the project?"

Ron shrugged sheepishly, he wasn't used to doing work, not to mention he'd been apart of the class that had been falling asleep.

Draco sat up and put his elbows on the table, looking at Hermione directly, since she was sitting opposite him. "I think it should be something big. Something the rest of the class can't out do."

Hermione nodded, of course he would think of this as a competition. "What do you think Pansy?"

Pansy shrugged, glaring at Hermione. "I agree with Draco." She said, rubbing his shoulder. When he pushed her hand off, it took everything Hermione had not to smirk at her.

"So," she said, turning back to Draco. "What did you have in mind? We only have this week, and the weekend to work on it, so it should be something simple."

"How about a clock?" Ron supplied.

"No Weasel," Draco said at which Hermione shot him a glare. "I said big, not some silly piece of machinery. Do you not understand English?" Under the table, Hermione kicked him. He seemed much more awake now, but Hermione almost wished he wasn't so he and Ron wouldn't begin fighting as usual.

"There's plenty of big clocks." she said, siding with Ron. "What about the clock in London? It's huge."

"Yeah." Ron said. "Or do you not go beyond daddy and mommy's big house to notice it?" Hermione leaned over to kick him too.

"Ouch," he said, looking at Hermione as if she'd grown another head.

"Don't egg him on Ron," she whispered. "He only gets worse to deal with." Then she turned back to Draco who was busy drawing something on parchment. "What's that Dr-Malfoy?" she asked quickly catching herself. Ron would go crazy if she talked to Draco like they were friends. Luckily, he had not noticed.

"This," he said, showing her. "Is what our project should be." On the parchment was a picture of a house, with a fuzzy outline. "I was thinking a large house, since it is a garden potion."

Hermione smiled while Ron and Pansy gave him blank looks. "What's a house got anything to do with a garden?"

Draco sighed. "What your puny Weasel brain doesn't understand is that a garden houses many different organisms while keeping them together, and changes as more organisms join. A house also does the same. It can become worn down, or it can be patched up depending on how it is taken care of."

Ron still looked a bit skeptical, but when Hermione agreed with Draco, he just sat with his arms crossed, dejected that he could not impress Hermione like Malfoy could.

"And we could even add little bugs." She said taking the drawing from Draco's hand and drawing the inside of the house. When she finished she showed it to Draco and he nodded his approval, adding some marks. "Good, so we know what we're going to do. Now, how are we going to do it?"

"Me and you could work on it together," Weasely suggested but Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "Come on, Ron. The whole group has to do something. That's why the Professor assigned us groups." "But, Hermione..."

Draco tuned out of their chatter. His thoughts went back to the weekend.

Before he had left, Narcissa had been talking about visiting Lucius again. He did not want her to go alone, but he could not always be there for her either. Not that he enjoyed going to Azkaban anyway.

Sighing, he thought about how empty the manor felt in contrast to sleeping with Hermione. When he had returned this morning to Hermione's room and climbed into bed with her he felt... He didn't know what he felt exactly but, it was better than what he felt at the manor. He had felt alone there. Maybe that's why Narcissa wanted to visit Lucius, because she felt complete at least seeing him and being away from the lonely manor.

And then there was the whole Lucius issue. The only reason Narcissa was feeling lonely was because Lucius was not there. And what had the spirit been saying? If only there was a way for Lucius to just get out of Azkaban for a while, just to visit his family. Draco sighed. But that was impossible; no one ever got out of Azkaban.

Except for that one man, Draco thought looking around the room. Potter's uncle or something. Sirius Black.

Suddenly, Pansy interrupted his thoughts. "I think Draco and I will work on the outside of the house, while you two work on the inside involving the bugs."

The thought of working with Pansy made Draco frown. Because of the stupid love potion, she still smelled horrible to him and only Hermione smelled good.

Luckily it seemed like Hermione was opposed to the idea as well. Arms crossed like Snape used to, she said "Okay but, the framework needs to be built somehow. Who will do that?"

"And," Draco added. "Neither you nor Weasel here have any skills at potion." He did not bother to apologize for the rude way he said it. "It would take too long with that pairing."

Pansy narrowed her eyes at him. "You actually want to work with her?" she asked, her distaste for Hermione evident.

Hermione sighed, why did she have to be stuck with Pansy?

Draco shrugged, noticing the Weasel was as shocked as Pansy. "She's good at potions." he said grudgingly. Why couldn't Pansy just agree with him? "I bet if Granger and I worked together, we could finish before half the class."

Hermione stared at him, trying not to let her mouth fall open. Had he just complemented her? In front of a Slytherin? Of course not, maybe he just wanted to work with her because he knew that Hermione would do the work properly for a good grade. But then again, he did his work too. He was ranked second in the school academically. _So it was probably a compliment. _Hermione tried, but she could not stop the smirk from creeping upon her face.

"All right, class dismissed." Professor Ravere said loudly. "I'll be checking tomorrow what each group's plan is. Be prepared!"

Everyone began to get up and leave but Pansy continued to glare at Draco. "We can decide the rest tomorrow." Hermione said, gathering her things. She didn't feel like arguing with Pansy right now.

_What you should do is tell her to leave the blonde alone._

Hermione almost choked. Why did the spirit say that? Turning, Hermione saw Pansy latched on to Draco, trying to say something that he obviously did not want to hear.

_He's yours and you should tell her that._

Hermione sighed, and turned away. _I don't know what you're on about but Draco is definitely not 'mine'._

"Hermione are you okay?" Ron asked noting her annoyed expression. She had been fine a moment ago.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, just uh thinking about how rude Pansy is. It's not like I did anything to her." Ron nodded and laughed as Harry caught up to them. While they talked, Hermione walked beside them, not saying much.

_Tell her you kissed him, and he is yours._

It took everything Hermione had not to hit her head on a book or two._ A. You convinced me to kiss him which I never would have done in a million years. B. It was only to save his life. Which does not happen often between us. C. He kisses plenty of people, I'm sure. D. He is definitely not 'mine'._

_A. You'd have eventually kissed him. Trust me. B. He's a guy. They're all fools until they realize the one girl they need is right in front of them and-_

_Why should I trust you?_ Hermione fired back at the spirit as she entered her next class and angrily sat down. _How do you know anything about him anyway?_ She asked. Unfortunately the spirit did not respond.

* * *

Draco spent the day trying to ask people how Black had gotten out of Azkaban. Apparently he had done it twice, but no one he talked to knew how. But one of them did mention him being Harry's Godfather, and the killer of his parents. This stumped Draco. There was no reason Potter would help a murderer out of Azkaban. But there was no harm in asking.

In Ancient Ruins, he immediately turned to Hermione. "What do you know about Sirius Black?" he asked and noticed how she immediately stiffened.

Frowning, she asked, "Why are you asking?"

"I was just curious. Especially when I heard that he is Potter's Godfather yet he killed Potter's parents." Draco said, frowning when Hermione cringed. She hated this rumor; she wished everyone could know the truth. "I was wondering if the rumors were true that he escaped Azkaban twice?"

He waited for Hermione to respond but she just shrugged.

She immediately wanted to tell him that people were liars; that Sirius had not killed Lily and James Potter. He was a good man. She did want to tell him the truth about Sirius, but she just could not find the words.

"Well, can I assume that Potter knows where he is?"

Hermione sighed. She should have known Malfoy was not one to give up easily when he wanted answers. "No, you cannot meet him Malfoy. Why would you anyway? Just to see if rumors are true?" And then something clicked in her head. Malfoy was never one for just talking, he was the type of person who used others to his advantage. The question was, what could he have needed Sirius for?

"Ah, so you know where he is?" Draco asked, smirking.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "You want to know why or how he escaped from Azkaban. But why would you want to know that? What good would it do for you?" she asked.

Draco just shrugged. "It's just interesting. Don't you think?"

Hermione did not. She just thought about how horrible it had been the day he had disappeared behind the arch. In a soft voice she said, "No, I don't think it's interesting."

Draco sighed, frustrated at her. "Fine. I get it: I can't meet him. But you should at least tell me why."

Hermione looked at Draco. From what she knew about Sirius, he would have been a relative of Draco's had he been living today. Thinking about that, she felt Draco had a small right to know. And then taking a deep breath she said, "There is something called the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. Fifth year, me and some friends went there because Harry thought something had happened to Sirius. Turns out he was tricked by Voldemort. Death Eaters were there and a duel broke out and Sirius was killed by Bellatrix." She saw Draco's expression quickly change from surprise to... something. He looked away. "And just so you know he did not kill Harry's parents. He was framed by a friend of his."

Draco turned back to her. "Why'd you tell me that?" he asked. He had not asked about Sirius's life.

Hermione shrugged. "He was Bellatrix's cousin, who's your aunt right? It makes you two related. I just thought maybe you should know." And she felt like at least he should know hat Sirius had not been a bad person.

The rest of the class Hermione and Draco worked in silence. Hermione lost in thought about the past, while Draco thought about how the one person he wanted to talk to was dead. He'd even been a relative - assuming Hermione was not lying - and Draco had never known.

* * *

Later, Hermione was sitting in her room doing homework when Draco came in and dropped a stack of books in front of her. Hermione was always one to love books, but being disturbed while doing work was a pet peeve. And not only that but she was still upset at how cold he had acted this morning. Not looking up, she continued on her work. She felt childish wanting him to explain himself without asking but he had been rude this morning. She was a little tired of being nice.

Draco stood for a moment watching her, wondering why she was not saying anything. Well, two could play at this game. Without a word, he left for his own room.

Sighing, Hermione continued her essay. If he had something to say, he could have just said it. And he would be back later anyway to sleep; they could talk then.

However, he still had not shown up by 11 p.m. Hermione had forgotten about him until she tripped over the stack of books at the foot of her bed. She walked to Malfoy's room and saw that the light was off. Curious, she looked inside and saw that he was in bed. True he was tossing and turning, but still. Hermione felt a little disappointed that he would not be in her bed tonight.

Then, realizing what she had just thought, she chastised herself, and headed back to her room. If Draco wanted to sleep in his own bed, he could. Maybe the love potion was wearing off. And that _was_ the only reason she had invited him.

_Are you sure that was the only reason?_

Hermione rolled her eyes. Was this spirit trying to play match-maker or something?

_No, I just don't want you to lie to yourself._

Hermione sighed. Maybe the spirit was a bit right. As she changed into a pair of shorts and tank top (because Draco would not be joining her), she thought about what the spirit was saying. She was lying to herself if she said she did not want Draco sleeping next to her right now. Without him, the room seemed much emptier and colder.

_The thing is spirit_, Hermione thought, _is__ that thinking like that makes me blush and gives me butterflies._ "I get nervous when he's around and ... I don't know. I'm not good at dealing with things that make me nervous." Hermione sighed and started playing with her hair. "I like knowing things, that's why I read and learn as many things as I can. Books have concrete ideas, and facts. I like that." With Malfoy though, it was something entirely different.

"Too bad Hermione."

There was a creak at the door and then something warm climbed in Hermione's bed. She gasped, but then realized it was Draco's warm body. It made her happy, but it did nothing to calm her heart rate.

"Not every thing is written in books." he said and moved closer to her. He had not bothered with the inflatable bed so now it was just Hermione's bed. And it was not a King Size bed, so Hermione would just be stuck pressed against Draco, or she would fall off.

"You scared me!" she said, trying and failing to put some distance between them. Even in the dark, she could feel his eyes roaming her body. Why had she taken her long pajamas off? And then she smirked. "Why are you here? Couldn't sleep without me?"

Draco stared at her, was she suggesting something? "Of course Hermione," he was so close to her that his voice was loud in the quiet room. Hearing her first name from his mouth had her insides tightening, making her nervous yet again. "But obviously it's you who can't get to sleep without me. Seeing as you stopped by room to see if I was coming here or not."

Hermione stared blushing. "But you must have been awake too or how else would you know I was there?" Draco glared at her; she always had something clever to say. "How long have you been standing at the door anyway?" she asked, as he met her eyes.

He shrugged, his arm brushing against Hermione's from the shoulder down. "Long enough to hear you talking to yourself." he said, and she could just imagine him smirking. Looking away, she shifted her body, embarrassed that he had heard her. "And long enough to realize that you have a crush on the guy you were thinking about."

Hermione lay there, mortified, and wondering why he was not laughing at her. Did he not find it funny that she had been talking about him? And then she realized he had said, "the guy". He did not know she had been thinking about him!

Quickly she turned back around. That was good, let him think she had a crush on someone else. "Uhm, yeah." She managed awkwardly, in a high voice. She had to calm down. This stroke of good luck and Draco being so close was making her too excited. "Do you know anything about having a crush?" She asked hoping she did not sound childish.

For some reason, Draco thought of Hermione's smiling face. Blaming that on the love potion, he cleared his throat. "Not really." he said.

Hermione sat up on an elbow and raised an eyebrow at him. "Lumos," she said, waving her wand so they could see each other. "What about Pansy?"

She sounded so genuinely shocked that Draco smirked. "Everyone thinks that but, I just don't get _mushy_ feelings for her. We just sort of... Click, physically." At this Hermione rolled her eyes. "Maybe she likes me, but I don't."

Hermione frowned and lay down again. "But don't you want more from a person than just..." Draco turned on his side so he could look at her expression, and then rolled his eyes at her imitation of him. "Clicking physically?"

Draco didn't waste a second thought on it. "Nah," he said, "Clicking physically is probably the most important thing."

Hermione laughed. "That's not the most important thing for me."

Finding himself curious, Draco asked, "So what is important to you?"

Hermione bit her lip and thought about it. This sort of thing wasn't in books. This was her opinion and it seemed Draco genuinely wanted to know. "I don't know," she said. "I've never really thought about it but... I guess the most important thing would be caring and understanding." When Draco gave her a blank look she sighed. "You know, like... If I wanted a relationship with someone, I'd want him to be-" she paused, searching for the right word.

"Hott?" Draco supplied.

Hermione smacked his arm. "That would be nice," Draco smirked, it was what everyone really wanted. "But I'd also like to know him. Like who he is on the inside, what makes him happy, sad and stuff. And I'd want him to know about me and understand me."

Draco shrugged, trying not to think to deep in her words. "At least you didn't say Prince Charming." Hermione smiled. "Merlin knows females waste their time looking for him."

"Yeah, I'd just be setting myself up for disappointment." Hermione said, with Draco nodded. "Hey, Draco." She murmured after a couple minutes of silence.

"Hm?" he asked with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Did you realize we just had an actual conversation?"

He chuckled, "Yeah that seems to be happening more often. Who knew we could accomplish it?"

Hermione laughed. "I think this is the longest without an argument. Though I do enjoy arguing with you." she said softly.

Draco turned and met her eyes. "You know what Hermione? Me too. No one really dares to argue against me because of my last name."

Hermione scoffed. "No wonder you have such a big ego,"

Draco rolled his eyes, but they both laughed. "Did you look at those books?" he asked suppressing a yawn.

"Books? Oh the ones you brought? Not yet. I was working on homework, why?"

"They're some books about spirits I found at the manor. I thought you might like to-"

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, immediately sitting up and throwing the covers off. "You should have told me!"

Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm before she could jump off the bed. "Hermione Granger." he said, and she turned to look at him as if he was crazy.

"Draco," she said. "Those books are filled with information-"

"Nope," he said, and softly pulled her back into the bed next to him. "It's almost midnight. We can both leaf through those 300-page books tomorrow."

Hermione frowned at him. "But-"

Suddenly, Draco got very close to her face. In a low voice he asked, "I usually just kiss girls to make them shut up. Do you want me to kiss you?"

Hermione gulped, trying to maintain eye contact. Her heart was pounding and every nerve in her body was screaming yes but she managed to say, "Pig head."

Shaking his head and laughing, Draco pulled the covers up, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. "Get some sleep. You have the whole day tomorrow. The books aren't going anywhere."

Hermione pouted. "If you'd just told me earlier what those books were about..."

"Well, I didn't. Life goes on." he said, yawning.

Realizing Draco wasn't letting her go any time soon, Hermione waved her wand and plunged the room in darkness.

"I hope you don't mind," Draco said quietly, and pulled Hermione close to him. She squeaked, surprised at being so close to him. He was holding her so they were looking at each other, and he had a hand on her lower back. "Love potion demands you be this close to me."

Hermione chuckled; aside from the butterflies in her stomach, she didn't really mind, they usually woke up in this position anyway.

Resting her head near his neck, Hermione sighed in content. For just a moment she allowed herself the fantasy that Draco was not affected by a love potion and he was getting the same nervous feeling in his stomach. And for a moment, Draco let himself forget that she was a muggle-born Gryffindor and probably in love with a Weasel. They just enjoyed being close to each other and falling asleep together.

* * *

A/N: I actually liked this chapter even though it was a little slow. Finally, they are getting somewhere with their feelings. Even though there was not much of Draco's thoughts... I hope you guys liked it!

Review and tell me what you think please! Have a great weekend :)


	13. Chapter 13

WHOP 13

Draco yawned as he woke up, snuggling his neck into something warm. He wasn't one for cuddling but somethings you just take advantage of. Like waking up next to a female who cuddled back.

But unusually rather than cuddling back, Hermione was toying with his hair, waking him up. He lay there thinking for a moment and watching the way her hair shined in the sun. He was surprised he liked just sleeping with Hermione. Sleeping with a girl before usually involved sex. Now he didn't even consider it. Well, maybe he did, especially when Hermione made small noises in her sleep but he would not act on those thoughts. He just had a feeling Hermione was not the type of person to even think about sex at this age.

_Maybe she just hasn't met the right person._

He and the spirit thought at the same time. But why was he thinking about this anyway? Hermione and sex were just not to be thought about. Or even mentioned in the same sentence. Great, now he was thinking about it.

Hermione shivered a bit as Draco sighed. Seeing as she was only wearing a tank top, he was breathing on her bare shoulder and neck.

"What time is it?" he mumbled on her shoulder, and Hermione resisted the urge to ... Well she didn't know what, but his lips were very inviting right now.

"7:10." she said, looking at the clock hanging above her bookshelf.

Draco shuffled against her more, ignoring the urge to bite her soft skin. She'd probably kick him off the bed.

"I feel like I just fell asleep a minute ago."

Hermione chuckled, tugging at some hairs on Draco's head. "I assure you, we fell asleep at least seven hours ago." Draco didn't know why, but he liked the way she said 'we'. "And now we need to get up," she said, trying to move away from him.

"Do we have to?" Draco asked, letting go of her so she could sit up. Hermione rolled her eyes and fully opened the curtains in her room so sunlight hit Draco's face. He groaned, "Bloody hell, it's too early for this."

Shaking her head, Hermione headed for the bathroom. After 10 minutes, the door opened and a waft of shampoo hit Draco as well as Hermione's natural smell. Sleepy-eyed, he headed toward the sweet smell.

After giving Crookshanks new food and water, Hermione left for breakfast.

* * *

Pansy rolled her eyes as Granger raised her hand to volunteer their group the first for Professor Ravere to check projects. Everyone else tried to eavesdrop on Granger talking but when Draco shot them a glare, they turned away. It was like they were a team. Pansy scowled as he brushed Hermione's arm 'accidentally' while showing the Professor something on the parchment.

She could remember a time when Draco would refuse to even sit with her. And now? They were civil to each other. Who knew how long it would be before they were friends?

Hermione could feel Pansy's glare but refused to respond. Last night's sleep had left her in a good mood, not to mention the Professor approved their project; Hermione was determined to stay in a good mood.

"Alright I like your idea but remember it's due soon so don't slack. You guys have a lot of work to get done." Professor Ravere said, walking away.

"I need to use the bathroom," Pansy said, giving Hermione one last glare.

After she left, Ron went to go talk to Neville, leaving Hermione and Draco at the table. For a minute it was just Draco writing a few notes on the parchment and then Hermione got bored of the quiet..

"So why did you go to back to Malfoy Manor anyway?" She asked.

"It was just some family business. Why?" he answered distractedly.

"Because yesterday you were really moody and silent. I just thought maybe your 'family business' might have been the cause."

Hermione had not expected him to respond, but surprisingly he put down his quill and looked at her. He hadn't known Hermione paid attention to him at all. The fact that she did and wanted to know what bothered him... Was kind. "I - well Mother and I went to Azkaban." he said in a soft voice. He didn't know why he was telling her, but it felt nice to finally tell _someone._ And it seemed like Hermione was the only one he talked to these days. So he continued. "Because she wanted to visit Lucius."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Did something happen?" she asked, horrible scenarios running through her head.

Draco shook his head, and Hermione exhaled in relief. "Nothing bad." he said, choosing his words carefully. "It's just that mother really misses him. And it just makes me afraid that she would go to Azkaban alone to see him more often."

"And why does that make you afraid?"

Draco shrugged, remembering a nightmare of Narcissa being locked away in Azkaban. And that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even talk to her.

"Draco," Hermione said, slightly touching his leg with her knee.

"Azkaban is a horrible place Hermione." he said just as Ron suddenly came back to the table. Draco and Hermione immediately looked away from each other, a little embarrassed.

Hermione sat up a little straighter and cleared her throat, but didn't move her leg away from Draco's. He didn't say anything but moved his leg closer to her's. Even though it was a small touch, it sent a jolt up Hermione's leg.

"So are we pairing up the way we talked about yesterday?" Ron asked.

Hermione turned to him. She had no idea what they had decided on yesterday. "Uh, what was that again?"

Ron gave her a quizzical look. "That you work with Malfoy on the potion while Parkinson and me work on the house structure?"

"Oh, yeah." She said and turned to Draco. "So," she said raising an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay working with me?"

Draco smirked at her playful tone. "As long as you don't act like a snob, Granger."

" . Malfoy, I was actually hoping you'd come up with better come backs this year." Hermione teased just as Pansy came back.

As usual she sneered at Hermione as she sat down. "So are me and you working together, Draco?" she asked.

He looked at Hermione and slightly rolled his eyes. "No Pansy. Me and Granger are going to work on the potion while you and Weasely work on the house."

Pansy immediately gave Ron a look of disdain. "If you want," Hermione said. "You can choose what it should look like,"

Pansy gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine." she huffed, and started to scrawled a picture onto parchment.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go make the potion, Malfoy." She said standing up. Ron gave her a panicked look but she squeezed his arm in reassurance. Hopefully Pansy wouldn't be too mean.

Together, Hermione and Draco gathered their materials at a cauldron and began the potion. It took two days to mature and today was already Tuesday so they were careful as possible making the potion. Not that either of them usually messed up.

They worked in silence, each deep in concentration. As time went on, Hermione noticed that they were standing close. And was it her imagination or was Draco deliberately moving just to brush Hermione's arm or reach around her. But she tucked the thought away, it was probably coincidence.

Draco worked diligently, trying to keep his mind off Hermione standing so close to him. It wasn't that he minded her presence, she was just a little distracting. Every minute he would notice something about her such as how a lock of hair would fall out of her bun, how she chopped up ingredients or the way her mouth moved as she silently read the instructions to herself. But watching her read just made him want to bite her pink lips. Ignoring the urge, he swallowed, hoping class was almost over.

"Draco pass me that," Hermione said, tapping him on the arm. Her strong, heavenly smell hit him and he growled low. She gave him a strange look as he passed her the ingredient. Shrugging, she continued working, oblivious to the reaction she was having on Draco.

Eventually, the class ended and they cast a charm on the potion to keep it fresh until tomorrow. Avoiding touching Hermione, Draco rushed out, heading into a sea of not-Hermione smelling people.

Later, in Ancient Ruins, Hermione noticed Draco was sitting very stiff next to her. She nudged him. He looked at her, surprised. "What's the matter?" she asked him, glad they sat in the back.

"What?" Draco asked.

"You're acting really... Odd." Hermione said. Draco sighed. "Care to tell why?"

He looked right into her eyes. "You,"

"Me?" Hermione asked dubiously. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," Draco smirked. "The love potion just makes me want to do... Certain things to you. I'm 'acting odd' because I am trying to pretend you're not here, so I don't think about those things." he said.

"Like what?" Hermione asked, confused. She didn't understand what he meant.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her. Was she serious? "Things that would make you blush," he said and smirked when her mouth made a small 'o'.

Licking her lips, Hermione looked away. There were butterflies jumping in her stomach, she had no idea she was appealing to any male.

Watching her be nervous was amusing to Draco. He could have some fun with this. Quietly he moved his chair closer to her. While she was writing something down, he leaned close to her, ignoring the urge to pull her in his lap. "Hermione," he whispered seductively in her ear.

Hermione screamed, nearly jumping out of her chair.

"Miss Granger?" the Professor asked, surprised at her outburst. The whole class had turned to look and Hermione and she could feel herself turning red.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I um, was about to drip ink on a book."

"Please try to control yourself." The Professor said, turning back to the board. Some people, including Draco, were laughing.

Hermione glared at him. He had scared her half to heaven! And he had the nerve to laugh! Reaching over, Hermione pinched his leg.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked.

He was laughing too hard to respond so she pinched him again.

Finally he looked at her, a smile still on his face. Even though she wanted to hex him, her heart flipped at that smile. "That was hilarious." he said. "You should have seen your face."

She glared at him. Two could play at this. She just didn't know how to get him back.

And then she smirked, getting a childish idea. Being very discreet and pretending to be mad, she cast a quick charm to tie Draco's shoe laces together.

For the rest of the class Hermione waited in suspense to be dismissed, trying not to look at Draco's feet. Finally, they were dismissed. She gathered her things slowly, planning to watch Draco fall flat on his face.

Just as she hoped, he got up quickly. And then when he tried to move BAM! Surprised, everyone turned to see Draco Malfoy had fallen.

Hermione could not contain her laughter for a second. "Hahahaha!" She burst out. People who had stopped also laughed but moved on for dinner. Hermione didn't think of that. As Draco pulled himself up Hermione could see he was smirking. She was about to run when he suddenly reached up and grabbed her legs. Laughing and unbalanced, Hermione fell in his lap.

Surpised, Draco let go of her, but she didn't do anything. She sat in his lap, still laughing her head off. Her laughter was contagious and Draco found himself smiling at her. When the Professor found them in what he deemed "A compromising position", he gave them detention for half an hour. But Draco and Hermione didn't really mind, this just meant more pranks without the whole school watching.

* * *

**A/N: sorry this chapter is a but shorter than the rest I just wanted them to have fun! And hopefully next chapter will be more plot based with the spirits and stuff! **

**Thanks for those wonderful reviews! They made me happy! Seriously! Review again and tell me what you think!**

**oh and if you have prank ideas for these two don't be shy! I'd love to hear some! My creativity is lacking right now.**

**Anyway happy Holidays and I'm sorry for the slow update :( hope you guys enjoyed!**


	14. Chapter 14

**New Chapter Finally! Enjoy guys!**

WHOP 14

Draco was walking through a long hallway. The walls were lined of portraits of the Malfoy family. Old relatives eyed him as he approached an old door at the end of the hallway. He heard someone coughing and hacking repeatedly. Someone really sick was behind the door. He didn't know why but that made him nervous.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door. As his eyes adjusted to a dark room, he saw the person who was coughing. It was Lucius. He was sitting down, hunched in a corner and looking like he was at death's door. Then Draco realized why the portraits had been eyeing him with pity.

Draco stepped closer to the sick Lucius when suddenly cell bars landed in front of him, blocking him from his father. Lucius looked up at him with hollow eyes and coughed again.

Draco reached in his pocket for his wand but found nothing. Gritting his teeth, he banged his hands on the steel bars. Suddenly there was a noise outside and the walls behind Lucius seemed to get darker. Dementors! He realized and tried to pull on the cell bars. He had to get to his father. But how could he? The cell bars wouldn't budge and the Dementors were getting closer.

"Draco, help." called his father's frail voice. Horrified, Draco watched as the Dementors swept closer to his father. "Draco."

"No!" Draco yelled and pulled at the cell bars some more but it was no use.

"Draco," came the frail voice again as the Dementors blocked Lucius from Draco's view. But they didn't block the screaming. "Draco!"

Even more furious, Draco beat on the bars, though his hands hurt. The bars had to break eventually. He had to save Lucius.

"Draco." The voice was calm now, no longer yelling. But it seemed to be getting louder. "Draco." And then the Dementors flew away. And Draco watched as a lifeless body hit the floor.

"Draco, wake up!"

Draco's eyes snapped open. Breathing hard, he checked his surroundings. A window to his left, a desk with papers, a door and a red and gold striped blanket on him. And to his right Hermione, with a concerned expression on her face.

He was soaked with sweat and the dark outside the window told him it was early in the morning. Sighing, he sat up and pushed the blanket away. Hermione stayed at his side but said nothing.

"Bad dream," he mumbled to her, rubbing his eyes to erase the lingering memories of the dream.

"Here," Hermione said, handing him some water. Grateful, Draco drank it. Hermione rubbed his arm as he sighed, yet both of them said nothing.

They both seemed comfortable not to say anything, Draco lost in his thoughts and Hermione not wanting to bother him. But eventually Hermione's eyelids began to get heavy. Draco didn't notice he was sleepy until Hermione's head fell on his shoulder. He really didn't deserve to know a nice person like her. Normally, people would want to know what was bothering him immediately but Hermione was keeping her distance. She expected him to tell her when he was ready. He really didn't deserve her.

Against his better judgment, Draco intertwined his hand with hers, glad she was asleep. He wouldn't have the courage to do this in front of her even if he could just blame his actions on the love potion.

Slowly, Draco ran his fingers over the pale skin. Hermione's hand wasn't perfectly soft like other ladies who used beauty charms. She had a couple scars on her knuckles and she had hands that proved she made a difference in the war. Draco thought about the scar "mudblood" that had been etched in her arm. She didn't even use a beauty charm to conceal that. In fact, before the war she hadn't used beauty charms either. Without thinking, Draco brought her hand to his lips, softly giving her hand a kiss. Hermione was so interesting.

With a small smile, Draco lowered her and lay down next to her, her soft breathing helping him fall asleep.

Hermione yawned as she awoke to a meowing near her door. "Morning Crookshanks," she murmured, sitting up. Then she noticed that she was holding Draco's hand. For a moment she stared at their hands, that looked like they belonged together. And it wasn't like she was only holding onto him. His fingers were also curled around her hand.

Then she snapped out of it. She didn't know who had started this, but if Draco saw this he would probably let her hand go the second he saw. Still, she couldn't shake the smile off of her face.

_You don't think he likes you?_ The spirit asked in Hermione's head as she got out of the bathroom.

_Nope. _Hermione answered. _Well at least not as I like him. _

_I think he likes you. _The spirit thought in a matter-of-factly tone.

Hermione snorted, pouring Crookshanks more water. What makes you say that?

_Well he isn't mean to you and you two are talking like good friends. And he didn't kill you for kissing him like you thought he would._

Hermione struggled to keep a straight face. She was surprised she hadn't died from embarrassment that day she had kissed Draco. Trying to calm her heart rate, she grabbed a book that Draco had brought and sat down for a quick read before breakfast.

The particular book she had picked up was full of spells, probably dark ones though. Surprisingly Hermione found herself intrigued by the spells. There were so many complicated steps and ingredients that Hermione would never probably do a spell, so it wouldn't hurt to read about it.

She was so engrossed in the book, she didn't notice Draco had gotten ready. He tapped her shoulder and she looked up.

"Why haven't you eaten yet?" he asked her. "You woke up an hour ago."

Frowning Hermione closed the book. It felt like she had only picked it up 10 minutes ago. When she checked her watch, she realized Draco was right.

_She was probably waiting for you._ The spirit said in his head and Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes. As if.

"I lost track of time." she sighed, grabbing her bag quickly. "But if I go to eat, I might be late for class."

"You're on time every day. No one will mind if you're a couple minutes late for once in your life." Draco said, having no problem being late to a class.

But Hermione stood there chewing her bottom lip. "I don't know Draco."

Draco looked away from her lips and opened the door. "Come on Hermione it'll only be one day." And with one more thought, Hermione decided to join him. Together, they headed to the Great Hall. When they got there, it was mostly empty except for a few students who had woken up late.

Draco headed to the Slytherin table and noticed Hermione was following him. He sat down and when she sat beside him, he raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing?" he asked nonchalantly.

Hermione actually didn't know. She had planned on eating quickly and leaving but her feet had taken her to the Slytherin table. There were some people at the Slytherin table who were giving her odd looks but Draco hadn't asked her to leave. Yet.

Shrugging, she grabbed a bagel and started to butter it. "It's a bit lonely in here so I thought you might want some company." she said.

Draco chuckled. "Are you sure I'm the one in need of company?" Hermione responded by resting her leg against his. Draco smiled, as coffee appeared. Hermione as company wasn't actually that bad. After a moment he asked, "So how did you get that scar?" touching a small line on Hermione's thumb.

Hermione shrugged. "One of my many scars from the war I think. How about that yours?" she asked pointing to one right on the edge of Draco's jaw line.

"I had a fight with my dad long ago," Draco said.

Hermione nodded, saying nothing for a minute. "I think you were saying his name in your sleep last night." she said watching Draco clench his jaw. "I know you don't want to talk about it but are you okay?"

Draco looked up and sighed. Hermione could see his body was visibly stressed. Two years ago he had been a confident, young man. But like everyone, the war had taken a toll on him. His shoulders were low, and his eyes sometimes had a lost look to them. Especially in the morning.

Unsure of what he was thinking, Hermione reached under the table and held his hand. He started to pull away, but Hermione held it and he turned to look at her. "Draco, you don't have to keep everything to yourself. I know you've always been a rude person to me, but obviously you aren't like that any more. It's okay if you still think of me as some know-it-all and maybe you still don't trust me but you need to talk to someone."

He looked away from Hermione. He kind of did want to talk to her; he just didn't know how. "Look, it's not that I don't trust you but-" He shook his head; he actually didn't know what he wanted to say.

Suddenly a voice from the front of the Great Hall shouted, "Hermione!" Hermione and Draco turned to see Ron and Ginny heading toward them. Hermione let go of Draco and stood up immediately.

"Hermione we were looking for you this morning," Ron said, but Ginny was looking back and forth between Hermione and Draco. "Where were you?" he asked. "And why are you at the Slytherin table?"

"Uhm, I was just reading and I lost track of time is all." she said choosing not to answer his last question.

"Well you should come on, we'll probably be late for class." Ron said.

"Well if you want to finish breakfast that's okay Hermione." Ginny said, noticing a half eaten bagel.

Hermione shrugged. "No it's okay, I um, was about to leave anyway." she said glancing at Draco who was also putting his stuff away. Giving him a brief nod, she left with Ginny and Ron wishing for once that she didn't care about classes so much.

* * *

"For the last time Ron," Hermione said, pausing to step over an abnormally big rock. "It was only breakfast." Ron rolled his eyes and Harry stood between them playing peacekeeper. She began to slow down behind the boys, not wanting to lengthen the argument.

Someone behind her hadn't noticed the rock and unlike Heroine, tripped, accidentally bumping into Hermione. She in turn grabbed onto Draco for support who just happened to be near her. But when she realized what she did, she let go, feeling her face heat up as Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

Draco also looked at her. He could still smell her fragrance from classrooms away and just now he had been about to catch her. He had not even minded that she held him for support. This love potion was going to be the end of him. But as he walked away, he thought that it was a bit more than the love potion. He enjoyed her company, he told her about things that he actually liked to talk about and he had liked kissing her. And his stomach pinched a little when he looked at her or touched her.

_Maybe you like her._ Said the Spirit.

Draco leaned back against a tree as the class moved closer to see what Hagrid had brought out. But absent mindedly, he was watching Hermione.

I don't like her, he immediately dismissed. She's just too... Draco struggled to find a negative quality about her. It shouldn't be this hard.

_Too what?_ The spirit mocked, and in his head Draco could imagine the Spirit smirking.

"Come look at this, Draco." Someone called from the group but Draco shook his head, uninterested.

With nothing to say, he asked the Spirit, What do you mean I like her? Like a friend? Or something else?

He knew he should probably know the answer to this but he wasn't quite ready to even think of another possibility except classmate.

_Close your eyes._

Draco frowned. What was this Spirit trying to prove now? Grudgingly, moving away from everyone's line of sight, Draco sat down and closed his eyes.

_Picture Hermione._ Draco sighed, but did as he was told. He pictured her sitting in the library reading a book. He pictured her with muggle clothes at platform 9 3/4. He pictured her laughing. He pictured waking up and seeing her smiling in the morning. _Now picture her with you. _It took an extra second, but Draco did. Pictured Hermione and him making the potion the other day. Pictured them doing homework together. But then he pictured something that was not a memory.

He pictured two people who vaguely resembled himself and some girl. They were wearing muggle clothing and running toward each other. When they reached each other, Draco pulled her against him in a tight hug. _"I'm never letting go of you," he whispered to her, kissing her swiftly on the forehead._

_"Never." Whispered the girl._

Abruptly, Draco opened his eyes. Why had he pictured that? And then, the Spirit didn't respond, which made him suspicious. That definitely had not been his memory. So could it have been the Spirit's? And why did he have a feeling he knew the girl?

* * *

Hermione was working on the potion for their project in Professor Ravere's class when she noticed that Draco had stopped and was looking at her. She decided to focus on finishing her part before commenting but Draco watching her made her nervous.

Draco noticed how nervous he was making her and smirked. It was always interesting to watch how Hermione reacted to things. But by third slip of her knife, he decided he should help her before she hurt herself.

Slowly, he stepped behind her and put his hands on hers. Curiously, she looked up at him. Looking at the vegetables, he cut while Hermione continued to look at every detail of his face because he was so close.

She never took time to notice before but Draco had very nice eyes. They weren't big but they had a very nice grey color with what look liked green flecks. And then there was his very strong jaw.

"You could help you know," Draco said moving closer and trying to get a better angle.

Blushing, Hermione turned back to the work at hand. However she couldn't keep her mind off of the fact that Draco was pressed against her back. She could feel his arms around her, his torso against her back, and his legs beside hers. For a moment she allowed herself a crazy thought of turning around and pulling Draco into a kiss that he would immediately respond back to. She didn't know why but having him so close was doing strange things to her.

Draco allowed himself a moment to slow down on cutting and focus on how Hermione's body aligned with his. He had already noticed when they fell asleep together, but now they were awake and she wasn't pulling away. Sure, she was nervous, but she didn't seem to mind being in such close contact with him.

When they were done, and left the ingredients to boil, Hermione turned to Draco. "What was that about?" she asked quietly, pretending to wipe something off of her shirt.

"What?" Draco asked placing his arms behind Hermione, towering over her.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "You know what." She said, but Draco just smirked at her.

"Oh helping you?" he asked, feigning innocence. "I didn't want you to cut your thumb off or anything, blood would have contaminated the potion."

"Well I'm so touched that you care about me." she said smirking at him. Then she noticed that people were also starting to come to the cauldrons to start their potions. "Draco," she hissed. "You should probably move away from me."

Draco had also noticed the people but some sort of adrenaline was going through his body. He didn't want to get away from Hermione just yet. "Why?" he asked.

Hermione blinked a few times. She was so used to Draco moving away from her when there were people around she forgot he did it for no reason. "I don't know," she stuttered. "Someone might-"

"Might what?" he asked, but nonetheless moved away. He didn't want her friends to think he was bullying Hermione. Then, as he looked at Hermione he realized something.

It was Hermione. The unknown girl that he had pictured himself with had been Hermione.

Hermione noticed his troubled expression and felt bad. He had just been playing and she had made a big deal out of it.

"Hermione," Draco said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Have you ever seen either of the spirits?"

"Once I think," she said confused. "She actually looked like me, which was weird. Why?"

"I think I saw one of the Spirit's memories. And in it was a guy who looked like me and a lady who looked strikingly similar to you." Draco said frowning.

"What?" Hermione asked. "So the spirits resemble us, so what?"

Instead of answering her, Draco turned to the potion, stirring a spoon in it to mask their conversation. "I think there's a reason they came after us specifically." he said in a low voice.

Hermione frowned. This actually had more possibilities than that. "What if they were our relatives or something Draco? What were they doing in the memory you saw?"

"Embracing each other." he said with out much detail as usual.

"Okay, so they were lovers." Hermione said, her fingers tapping anxiously on the table.

"Well if they were lovers, the guy could not have been a relative of mine. My entire line of family is only pure blood."

"As far as you know." Hermione said. "Sirius's family wanted to throw him out for some reason. Somewhere a member of your family could be non-pureblood, but if no one told you, you can't know." A year ago, Draco would have denied it even in his grave, but now he realized that he couldn't put that past his family. They valued being pureblood, if someone wasn't, they could easily use their money to make them disappear.

"Okay, but why us? Why are they in our heads?" Draco wondered, adding eggshells to the potion.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know, but I wonder if there is a way for us to communicate with them together, with both of us. I was reading your about that in those books you brought from home."

"Okay, tonight we'll check those books and see if they provide any good information."

A/N sorry for the wait lovelies! Please review and tell me what you think!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer : Don't own any of the characters just my plot.

* * *

WHOP 15

Two days passed as Hermione and Draco looked through those books. It wasn't difficult reading, just lengthy. And so far they'd gotten no where with the spirits.

Draco angrily closed the book he was reading. He wanted to know how to get that spirit out of his head but these books were not giving him much help. Hermione however, sitting on the couch opposite him, was diligently taking notes and reading the book thoroughly. She was clearly more patient than Draco, but he had a reason to be impatient. Hermione was sitting in an innocent pose but Draco just couldn't stop looking at her every few seconds.

When she noticed that he had stopped, she marked her page and closed her book. "Are you ready for breakfast already?" she asked, frowning at her watch. They didn't usually put away their books away until 15 minutes before breakfast in the great hall was finished.

Draco looked away from Hermione's lips and stood up. "Have your books been useful?" he asked, eyeing her stack of notes.

Hermione gave him a look. "Of course! There's plenty of history in there and so much about new enchantments and-"

"I meant, have you found anything useful to our spirit problem?" he interrupted. When Hermione hesitated, Draco sighed. "It's already Friday and we haven't gotten anywhere. Maybe I should go back to the manor answer get some different books."

Hermione bit her lip. She knew what he was saying was right, but that didn't mean these books were devoid of information. She was enjoying reading through them, and she didn't want Draco to put them back yet.

"I want to try something," Hermione said, getting an idea. "A muggle psychiatry technique."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hermione-"

"Come on, you want information about the spirits don't you?" she asked.

"But muggle -"

"It's better than reading a book that provides no information isn't it?" she asked. Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "That's what I thought. Now sit back down on the couch." she said. Once he did, she stood behind him and began to relax his shoulders.

Draco's breath hitched as Hermione's hands rolled over on his shoulders. For a moment he allowed himself to relax. He closed his eyes and bent back his head so that it rested against Hermione's abdomen. Once he was against Hermione, he found he didn't want to get away from her. She was surprised but she didn't stop massaging his shoulders.

"Now," she said in a low voice. "Think back to that vision you told me about. About that guy who looks like you and that girl who looks like me?"

Draco did what she said, imagining the scene the spirit has showed him.

"Are you thinking of it?" she asked and Draco nodded, his hair making a soft noise against Hermione's shirt. The butterflies in Hermione's stomach jumped but she kept talking. "Think back to another memory of you and the girl."

Abruptly the scene ended and Draco tried to think of another memory but instead imagined the real Hermione. Holding her against him while falling asleep. Hermione's hair smelling like jasmine and her soft breathing in his ear. Hermione's hand entertained with his.

"What do you see?" Hermione asked.

Draco smirked and opened his eyes. "Us in bed."

Hermione blushed and rolled her eyes. "Draco I'm being serious."

"And so am I." Draco said, smiling up at Hermione.

"Close your eyes and let's try again." Hermione said because staring into his eyes was making her pulse race. Draco smirked but obliged. "Think of the vision the spirit showed you again tell me aloud what you see."

Draco cleared his throat as the scene began. "I'm standing alone."

"Where are you?" Hermione asked.

"In a really big hall." Draco said, as the vision formed in more detail. "There's lots of chairs and -oh." Draco stopped, realizing where the spirit was.

"What?"

"I'm in a court room in the Ministry. I'm being led out of the court toward the hallway." Draco clenched his fist. After the war he had been brought to court, but instead of being let out at the end of the day, he had been in Azkaban until Potter had spoken up about Draco saving him. "I hate the Ministry's court."

"Relax, Draco." Hermione said, frowning. If Draco lost focus this wouldn't work. "Keep looking around what's happening? Do you hear anything?"

"Yeah, a lot of murmuring. But there's not that many people. And here you come."

"Me?" Hermione asked as the Hermione-look-alike advanced toward him.

"Well, the lady who looks like you. We hug. She smells like food. I say to her that I'll never let her go." Draco said in an almost soft voice, and Hermione felt her throat tighten and a sadness fill her heart. "The memory is almost over."

"Do you notice anything else? Any particular landmark? Any clothing that catches your eye? Any people?"

"I'm not looking anywhere but at her." Draco said. He braced himself for the dizzy feeling but, surprisingly the vision kept going instead of stopping. "We pull away and she tells me she brought me handmade food." Draco smiled. "We're both crying, but out of happiness. Wait. There's something around her neck: a silver necklace with a ring attached I think." Draco frowned, the ring had something written on it, but he couldn't really see it.

Suddenly everything went black, making Draco abruptly open his eyes, but he wasn't seeing anything. Hermione jumped back, surprised.

_And just what do you think you're doing?_ The spirit asked in a cold voice.

Draco choked, as he felt like the breath was being stolen from him. Immediately Hermione was at his side, wand at the ready. "Draco? Draco what's wrong?"

_You think you can just go through my memories and I wouldn't notice? _Draco fell off the couch, and his body started to spasm.

He heard Hermione beside him casting spells on him, but it wasn't making a difference. _That was private. _The spirit seemed to hiss as spots formed in Draco's vision. _Who do you think you are to go through my memories at you're leisure?_

Draco had had enough. With a grunt, he was able to sit upright. _Who do you think you are to just invade my head and life?_ He yelled back at the spirit. All at once, his body stopped shaking and his vision cleared as he was able to breathe. Draco gasped, and grabbed onto Hermione for support as the world seemed to spin.

"Draco!" she exclaimed, holding his shoulders as he coughed. Slowly, she rubbed his back and when he stopped coughing, she conjured him a glass of water. "What happened?" she asked.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Draco put the glass down. "I think the spirit got mad at me looking in his memories."

"The spirit?" Hermione asked. "It knows what we're doing?"

"Yeah, I don't think they just vacantly float around in our heads. I think they're actually aware of everything we do and think."

Hermione frowned. "That's such an intrusion of our privacy!"

"I know," Draco nodded. "Yet, he minds me going through his head. Or lack of." Draco sighed. "It's going to be hard to get rid of them. Look at what he did, just because I went through his memories. Imagine what they can do if we were to actually do something more."

"Well, we can not just going to do nothing." Hermione said defiantly. "We need to figure out why they came after us. Why don't you do this meditative technique on me? Maybe the spirit attached to me-"

"No," Draco said getting up and getting his bag.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked. "It worked! You were able to look at the memory and-"

"And nothing. It didn't do anything but get that spirit mad at me and show me that he actually has power, even if he is just a ghost. And besides," he said, handing Hermione her bag. "what would you do? You're spirit hasn't shown you a memory or anything."

"Maybe I could still try though. And we've got a good hour until breakfast is over! What is there to lose?"

Draco stepped closer to Hermione and said in a low voice, "You saw what that spirit did to me. I couldn't breathe Hermione, I'm not giving your spirit a reason to hurt you."

Now she got it. He didn't think she could handle talking to the spirit, or that she couldn't handle the consequences. "I can take care of myself. And they're not going to act the same, just because your spirit attacked you doesn't mean mine will." Hermione said.

"How do you know? Why wouldn't they act the same?" Draco asked.

"Well what makes you think they would?" Hermione asked, stubborn as usual.

Abandoning all reason Draco dropped his bag, pulled Hermione close to him, and kissed her. Hermione's anger immediately fizzled away as Draco's lips met hers. All she could think about was getting him closer. It started out as a chaste kiss, just to get Hermione to stop talking, but Draco enjoyed kissing her. She was good at it, and she stirred feelings in his stomach that no other girl did. More than just pure sexual arousal.

After a couple minutes Draco pulled away, pleased to see Hermione's face flushed and her eyes hungry for more. "I do not want anything to happen to you, Hermione Granger." he said, his breathing a bit uneven. "We'll find a less dangerous way to deal with the spirits. I don't want to see you hurt at all by the spirit problem or even be given the chance to be hurt." Draco said.

Dazed, Hermione asked, "Why?"

Draco looked at her as his heart sped up. He didn't know why actually, but imagining Hermione being hurt by the spirit made him extremely angry and upset. "Blame it on that love potion." he said, briefly touching lips with her again. "I just don't want the spirits harming you." With that, he let go of her, and picked up his bag.

Hermione stood there, her lips still buzzing and her mind still trying to process what happened. The way Draco said that made it seem like he actually cared for her. And then he had kissed her twice, voluntarily. And not to mention she had kissed him back!

"Come on, let's go have breakfast." Draco said, holding the portrait door open for Hermione, who was standing there in shock that Draco was being nice to her. But after a sigh, she picked up her bag and followed him to the Great Hall.

* * *

Throughout the day, Hermione found herself day dreaming and making random eye contact with Draco. And then when her group presented their project for Potions, she felt butterflies in her stomach jumping every time Draco moved near or away from her. So when it was lunch time, she grabbed Ginny and took her to the Head Dorms where she could talk with her in private.

"What did you just say?" Ginny practically screamed.

Hermione cringed. "You heard what I said," she mumbled.

"But Malfoy has been teasing you for the last 7 years of your life. And now you say you like him. When did that change?" Ginny asked.

Hermione thought about it. Really, things only changed when they found out about the spirits. But she didn't think she could tell Ginny that, she would probably tell her to get it checked by a hospital but it was a problem Hermione wanted to solve on her own.

Hermione sighed. She hated keeping secrets. "We sort of called a truce the third week of school." She said, remembering that was when they first learned about the spirits. "Mind you, he was still a git and a bit of a pervert."

"So is he not anymore?" Ginny asked, trying to understand her friend.

Suddenly, Hermione sat up straight and looked Ginny in the eye. "There are things I am going to tell you Ginerva Weasely that you cannot possibly ever tell anyone. Deal?"

Ginny nodded, her eyes wide at what secrets Hermione was going to share with her.

Hermione took a deep breath, there was no going back now. "About two weeks ago, Draco was poisoned with a love potion. I didn't make it, and I don't know what it's original purpose was, but it made him, I don't know, have feeling for me."

Ginny's eyes were as wide as saucers. "He's in love with you?" Ginny squealed.

Hermione smiled. "Not in love, but he certainly feels something strong for me." she said.

"He's not very public about having feelings for you." Ginny said thinking about it.

"He doesn't make me breakfast or shower me with flowers every day, but there's something between us." Hermione shook her head. "He's good at controlling himself in public mostly. But in private it's like he's a completely different person."

"In private, huh?" Ginny asked bumping Hermione's shoulder and winking. "What? Do you guys have mind blowing sex or something?"

Hermione started laughing and swatted Ginny on the knee. "Ginny! Heavens no, who do you think I am? But we do sleep together." Hermione said and Ginny laughed loud.

"Are you serious?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Don't get any ideas." Hermione said immediately. "It's just sleeping together. Because of the love potion, he just can't fall asleep alone."

"Wow," Ginny said, eyebrows raised. "I never thought Malfoy was that type of guy."

Hermione shrugged. "He definitely was not in the beginning of the year. But, he's just never tried to do that with me."

"Huh," Ginny said. "Never thought Malfoy would be the guy to respect your space." Hermione raised her eyebrows in agreement. "So you guys have kissed though right?" she asked, winking again.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, just a couple of times. Why do you not look surprised?"

"No guy can resist a girl in bed. No matter how in love with you they are to be a gentleman." Hermione laughed and wondered if she really was appealing to Draco as a girl or it was just the love potion. "Uh-oh," Ginny said suddenly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I see that look in you eyes." She said. "Something's bothering you about Malfoy though."

Hermione sighed and looked up at the ceiling, seeing Draco's face. "It's just, I keep wondering how it will be between us when the potion wears away. I mean, what if he goes back to being that cold, mean person he used to be?"

Ginny sighed. "How long does the potion last?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't think Madame Pompfrey knew. It was a messed up potion, so because she didn't know it's original purpose, she couldn't find out."

"Hmm, how much are you liking _this_ Malfoy?"

Hermione bit her lip. "A lot, Ginny. I can't imagine him not being this guy."

"Oh you've got it bad." Ginny said, sighing and rubbing Hermione's arm.

Hermione nodded, thinking that having feelings for Draco couldn't end well.

* * *

Draco saw Hermione walking away from the Great Hall as he was eating dinner, and decided after a few minutes he would join her. He was getting tired of Pansy's conversation anyway.

Smiling as Hermione's scent became stronger, Draco found her talking to a portrait. When she noticed he was walking in her direction, she turned around and smiled at him.

"Hey," he said, giving her a one armed hug.

He could tell by Hermione's posture that she was surprised, but she hugged him back. "I was about to go read more of those book you brought. Want to join me?" she asked.

"Sure," Draco said, his intent the whole time had been to join Hermione. When they got to their Head dorm, Hermione went in her room and changed into a tanktop and yoga pants. As she walked back to the couches and got a book, she could feel his gaze on her body, but stopped herself from blushing.

They sat in a comfortable silence, but Hermione could tell Draco was having a hard time concentrating on his book.

Finally, he put the book down, and Hermione pretended not to notice. That was until Draco closed her book for her.

"Hey!" Hermione said, wondering what had gotten into him. "I was reading that."

"No you weren't," Draco said with a smirk. Hermione rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "And I wasn't either, you're very distracting." he said, starting to give her shoulders a massage. He turned so Hermione was slightly sitting in his lap, and she obliged.

"Good distracting or bad?" Hermione asked.

"Both," Draco said with a chuckle. Hermione laughed too and Draco realized it was a melodious laugh and that he really enjoyed hearing it. "Hermione?" Draco asked after a minute of silence. "What's the muggle world's court system like?"

Hermione thought about it before answering. "It's complicated for one." she said. "And it varies for different countries but in general, the system would rather have 9 criminals walk free than let 1 innocent be convicted."

Draco nodded, intrigued. "How do they accomplish that?"

"There's plenty of loop holes in the system. Evidence has to be collected properly or it won't hold in court, someone can be deemed mentally unstable to get less punishment, and there's 'good behavior' that can get people out of jail before they're supposed to be released."

Draco scoffed. "Good behavior?"

Hermione nodded. "And the defense and prosecuted both get a lawyer to argue their case, even if they cannot afford it. Not like the wizarding world that puts people in Azkaban without a full, proper trial."

Draco nodded, agreeing.

"Why do you ask?" she asked.

For a moment he stopped massaging her shoulders and reached down to hold Hermione's hand. She laced her fingers with his and moved up so that her head rested on his chest.

"I hate the Ministry's court system." he said softly. "I want to become a lawyer so that I can make it better and I want to learn about other systems to help perfect it."

Hermione was speechless. She never realized Draco had any interest in that. "I'm sure you'll make the system 100 times better than it is today." she said giving his hand a squeeze.

Draco responding by lifting her hand and kissing it. "Thanks. No one really thinks that the Ministry needs any change. But they haven't been locked up in Azkaban for a few nights."

Hermione cringed and gave his hand another squeeze. "I'm glad they let you go." she said, refusing to wonder what it would be like if Draco was not here with her right now.

After a while, they went back to reading and finishing their homework. When Draco heard Hermione yawn, he stood behind her chair and pressed a soft kiss to her bare shoulder.

She turned around surprised, but with a tired look in her eyes. Pushing away the urge to kiss her once more, Draco picked her up out of the chair and held her bridal style. Hermione gasped, quickly holding on to him.

"How about we go to sleep?" he asked, not caring that they both had probably not finished their work.

Hermione nodded and said, "You didn't have to pick me up to ask, you know."

Draco smirked. "Yeah, but this is more romantic."

Hermione giggled as they entered her bedroom. "Since when are you romantic?"

Draco scoffed, putting her down and pressed his lips to her in a feather light kiss. "When am I not?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't stop jumping. "Are you sure it's not because of what I'm wearing?" she asked. "You're not romantic when I'm fully clothed."

Draco's gaze immediately went to her chest but then he pulled the covers up all the way to her chin and kissed her again, deeply this time. "Well, I'll make sure I am from now on," he said slightly breathless.

Tranfiguring his clothes into sleepwear, he tucked himself into bed with Hermione and they both fell asleep.

* * *

Yay! I finally updated! I wrote this instead of studying for finals so I really hope you guys enjoy because I'm pretty proud of this chapter!

REVIEW to tell me what you think and watch out for Pansy in the next chapter! ;)


	16. Chapter 16

WHOP 16

_She smiled as she went into the small restaurant and smelled fresh coffee. She had been coming here since she was very young, and she needed this familiar place to calm her heart. She ordered a cinnamon bun and black coffee, deciding to try something new._

_She stiffened as a man sat beside her. She didn't turn to see his face, but she new who it was._

_"What would you like this gorgeous morning?" the waitress asked him, with a flashy smile. But the man wasn't looking to entertain anyone._

_"Just some chai," he said in a cold tone._

_After the waitress left, he turned to her. "Since when do you drink black coffee?" he asked, his tone friendly, not giving away his inner emotions._

_"I told you not to look for me." she said, sipping her coffee, trying not to cringe at its taste._

_The man smiled, despite their desperate situation. "You actually thought I'd listen?" he asked._

_She sighed in frustration. "You can't be seen with me. Your parents - no your whole family would disown you."_

_"I'm not afraid of them." he said simply. "I'd give up everything for you."_

_She turned to him finally, anger in her eyes. "I'm doing this for your safety. I don't want anything to happen to you Malfoy. Why won't you just listen to me for once?" she hissed, as she got up, leaving her breakfast behind._

_But before she could get far, he grabbed her wrist. She turned around, knowing she couldn't get away from him; and it wasn't like she minded his touch. "Iva, I love you." he declared in a soft voice. His blue eyes were locked on her, and with those words, she felt her world starting to spin. "No matter what my parents say, no matter what comes in our way, I will never stop loving you." And with that he let go of her. Iva could feel the tears in her eyes and wanted nothing more that to jump in his arms and hug him, assuring him that she loved him too. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't risk the safety of her beloved. No matter how he had evaded his family to get here and tell her this, there would always be a Malfoy trying to separate them._

_So against her heart, she turned around and fled the coffee shop, tears streaming down here face._

* * *

Hermione gasped, suddenly awake. That dream had been so vivid, so emotional, she was sure it was one of the Spirit's memories. And it was so weird. The spirit had called the man Malfoy, which meant he was probably related to Draco. And they obviously loved each other, but something was preventing them to be together. But what?

Turning, Hermione noticed that Draco's side of the bed was empty, and then he strolled in. His hair was wet so Hermione guessed he had been in the shower.

Smiling, he sat next to her and gave her a small kiss. "Morning," he said.

Hermione smiled back, her heart beating 100 times per minute. She would never get tired of this happy, breathless feeling when she was with Draco. "Morning to you too." she said stretching, all thoughts of the dream gone as she focused on Draco. "What time is it?" she asked with a yawn.

"It's 10 am, and before you start being upset about how I should have woke you earlier, I just got back from some early morning Quidditch practice. So I haven't been here to wake you up."

Hermione laughed, sitting up and going to the bathroom. "I wasn't going to say that don't worry. Sometimes I enjoy my sleep."

Draco rolled his eyes, of course she wouldn't be mad when he expected her to. "By the way," Draco said when she later came out. "Pansy invited you and your Weasel to lunch with me and her in Hogsmeade this afternoon. She said she'd pay."

"Really?" Hermione asked with an eyebrow raised. Last time she had checked, Pansy was always glaring at her.

"Yeah just something small because we worked well on that group project."

Hermione shrugged. Maybe Pansy had finally gotten past hating anyone who wasn't a Slytherin. But she knew Ron would be suspicious. "I'll tell Ron, but you and Pansy haven't been exactly nice to him. I don't know if he'd want to go."

"I don't think I could ever be nice to a Weasel." Draco said and suddenly a pillow hit him in the face. Surprised, he turned to see Hermione laughing. When she saw him smirk, she knew she was going to get it.

They both rushed to Hermione's bed, trying to grab pillows and hit the other with them.

Between hitting him, Hermione thought about how natural this was, laughing and joking with Draco Malfoy. Like they had been best friends forever.

After a while they began to get tangled in the sheets and Hermione tripped trying to hit Draco and fell backwards in the bed. Draco immediately took advantage and held her down before she could try to hit him again.

Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco smiling down at her. His hands were pinning her down at the elbows and his body hovered over hers.

"Alright, alright, Draco. You win!" Hermione laughed and Draco smirked.

"I always win." he said before leaning down to kiss her deeply. He smiled as Hermione kissed him back and even hooked a leg over his hip. He just loved this thrill he got when he was near her. And it was amplified as she kissed him so passionately.

Draco reluctantly pulled away from her and Hermione sighed in pleasure as he left a lingering kiss on her neck before getting off of the bed.

Draco cleared his throat, resisting the urge to pull Hermione close again.

"So I'll see you later for lunch in Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked, straightening her clothes.

Draco nodded, as he left her room. "Yeah, you and the Weasel. See you later."

* * *

Pansy smiled as she returned the book of potions back to the library. After many hours of struggling, she had perfected a love potion and she now had the perfect opportunity to use it. After today, Draco would be her boyfriend again and forget his friendship with Granger ever existed.

* * *

Hermione noticed Ron shift in his seat as another awkward silence passed over the group. Pansy was being unusually pleasant for once and it was making the other three wary.

"I'll go see what's taking our drinks so long," she said suddenly, getting up and Hermione, Ron, and Draco visibly relaxed.

Pansy heard them talking behind her and took the small vial from her sleeve easily. The waitress looked surprised to see that Pansy would carry all four drinks herself but let her do it. Smirking, Pansy quickly turned the vial over one of the drinks and watched as it glowed blue for a second then back to its original color, signaling that the potion had mixed well with the drink.

"Here we go," she said. Setting the glasses down, she took special care to give Draco the one with the potion. From reading the potions book, Pansy knew it would take a couple hours for the potion to kick in, but it was okay, she knew it would work.

After half an hour, they all agreed to go their separate ways seeing the as they had nothing to talk about. "Alright, bye guys. This was really fun." Pansy said in a perky voice as she was leaving.

The rest of the group awkwardly said their goodbyes too, wondering what had gotten into Pansy.

"Think she's finally realized that there's no point to being a mean person?" Hermione whispered to Ron as they walked up hill back to school.

He laughed. "No way. I'm pretty sure she was holding up a smile because you and Malfoy are friends. She'll probably be the same Monday in class." He said and Hermione shrugged, silently hoping Ron was wrong and Pansy was changing for the better. She was tired of this hate between houses.

On the other side of Hogsmeade, Draco was examining the new brooms that had been ordered. He remembered how Hermione said she was afraid of flying on a broom and thought about getting her one so he could teach her. He could just imagine her terrified expression and smirked. Yes, he was going to get this and enjoy scaring her to death while teaching her.

Purchasing the broom and some new gear for himself, he left the shop and began the journey back to Hogwarts. About ten steps away from the shop he had just left, Draco began to get oddly dizzy. He tried to ignore it, but soon he found he could barely walk straight. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was Pansy appearing at his side.

* * *

A/N Hey. So maybe you noticed that this chapter is significantly short? Sorry, hope you guys atleast enjoyed the Dramione fluff. I wanted to end with a cliffhanger. And there will be more about the spirits in the next chapter.

What do you guys think will happen next? And what's the spirits about?

Also, I'll update again when this story gets up to 52 reviews. Random number, I know, But I REALLY want some feedback. So please review.

Next week is my last week of highschool which means no homework which means much more time to write! You're reviewing would give me great motivation!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: the plot, Amasius and Anna belong to me. That is all

* * *

WHOP 17

Draco didn't know where he was, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself running. He didn't even know what from; he just knew his lungs were ready to give way any moment. All he wanted was a moment to breathe. To grab hold of oxygen that would give his aching limbs some relief, but he kept going.

When he realized his body wasn't going to stop running any time soon, he tuned more into his surroundings. He was in a pretty dense forest, but he obviously knew where he was headed because he seemed to know exactly where to jump and where to turn. But he didn't know where he was going. How was it that his body seemed to know where to go but his thoughts were all jumbled?

Finally, at the end of his journey, he reached a small cottage. He didn't immediately step toward it, he hid behind a bush, trying to calm his breathing and trying to hear if someone was behind him. Quickly he gulped down a potion that burned through his veins but made them ache less moments later. Draco wanted to go in the cottage; he was desperately in need of some food and he could smell something delicious cooking inside but his body seemed to have a mind of its own. Carefully, he took his wand out and made his footprints disappear. With a small breeze, all that was left was clean dirt.

He thought he should check the perimeter, to absolutely make sure no one was around.

But all that was forgotten the moment he heard a whistle. He didn't turn around, but he heard her footsteps as she walked out to her little bird house and filled it with crumbs. Curiosity told Draco to turn, told him that the whistle sounded familiar, he should turn around and look at her. Just one look.

And he almost did before ropes seemed to come out of a tree and wrap around him. He almost cried out for help but someone grabbed his arm and quickly apparated them away.

Draco began thrashing immediately, trying to get away from his captor. "Petrificus Totalus." Someone called out and Draco felt his body go still. He could hear the footsteps of someone pacing to his left. He wanted to yell, to tell the person to take him back, take him anywhere but this kingdom.

"Amasius Malfoy. You thought you could run away from your destiny?"

Draco felt panic creeping into his bones. This was all wrong. His name was Draco Malfoy; obviously this person thought he was someone else. They had made a mistake and captured him instead of the person they were really supposed to get. He would just explain this to them and they would let him go, they had to. A face came into his view and Draco felt his plan halt at an amazing speed.

Because in front of him, smiling a rather toothy smile, stood his great-great-great uncle. And that's when Draco understood. As he began to have an out-of-body experience, he looked at the two generations of Malfoy's in front of him and everything seemed to click. None of this was real; he wasn't even in his own body. This was a memory of the spirit.

* * *

Hermione yawned as she closed the book. There was a small echo through the head dorms of the book thumping as she put it down. She looked at the door, any moment expecting Draco to stroll in, all confidence and a charming smile. But he didn't.

It was 10:30 pm so Hermione mused that maybe he was probably still in the Great Hall or studying or something. He would come in eventually. Slowly, and giving the door another glance, Hermione went to her room and climbed into bed.

Hermione at first kept tossing and turning, expecting to hear the dorm room creak open any second. She hadn't realized how comfortable she was when Draco was at her side. Now with him Merlin knew where, she was left with an empty bed and anxiety creeping up her heart.

When she finally closed her eyes, she sunk back into the same dream she was having in the morning. But instead of watching it from the Spirit's eyes, she was watching as an outsider.

The Spirit ran blindly from the little coffee shop, not caring about the people that saw her. She stopped when he grabbed her elbow and pulled her into a hug. "Why are you putting yourself in danger like this?" The Spirit asked.

The other man, obviously her lover, gave the top of her head a kiss and squeezed her harder. "I've told you a hundred times now: I don't care what they do to me. I can't bear to be away from you, Anna." This just made her cry harder. "Come on," he whispered in her ear. "Please stop crying, I'm doing this because I love you. And I know you love me too."

Hermione felt herself smile as the Spirit, Anna, lifted her head up and kissed the other spirit; it was like a romance movie right in front of her. But she wondered what was keeping them apart.

* * *

"You can hold me here as long as you want, but I'll always find a way out!" The Spirit, Amasius, yelled out to Draco's relative.

Draco's great-great-great Uncle Capio smirked at him and pulled out a sword to point at Amasius's throat. "Dear boy, you can keep thinking that. But sooner or later you will realize she is nothing."

"She is my everything!" Amasius announced with fire in his eyes.

Capio sunk the sword down so it began to draw blood; but not enough to indefinitely wound. In him, Draco saw his own father. "You could have the world if you marry the Silas girl. A fortune waiting at your disposal, a pureblood beautiful young maiden, a palace, and strong magic running in your veins. Why would you want that other girl? Half of her family is squib, she's a mudblood herself, she's blind for Merlin's sake-"

"Because of you!" Amasius roared, breaking out of the spell and Capio's hold. He took out his own sword and the two began to circle each other. "Everything horrible that's happened to her and her family has been because of you! You cast that curse on that snake that made her go blind. And don't think I don't know that you banished her out to that village. She would have never gone there on her own." Draco saw that Amasius had tears in his eyes. "You took her from me." He said in a quiet voice. Capio and he stopped circling each other suddenly. "How could you father? You of all people should know about love! You did everything to marry mother, and in the end you did; even though she was poor and your mother hated her. So why can I not be with the one I love?" Capio seemed almost ashamed, but he quickly changed his facial expression into a calm one.

"Just because I loved your mother, may she rest in peace, does not mean you have to go after someone you love. Armish will be a good wife to you; you should even be thankful that her family came to us with a marriage proposal." Capio stepped closer to him and smiled. "It will be good for you and your future. Son, her family also has power and wealth. You will not have to struggle as I did."

Amasius shook his head and dropped his sword, the same defeated look in his eyes that Draco saw in his own for the past years. It fell to the floor with a clang and Capio frowned at his son. This was not how he had taught him to duel. "I do not care about wealth and power anymore father." Amasius walked closer to his father so that his chest was touching Capio's sword. "And neither should you; it is the reason mother is not with us today. All I care about is being with Anna, and if I cannot, I would rather die than live a life without her." There was a heavy silence in the air as the two men stared each other down, wondering how far the other would go.

Capio's eyes widened and his frown deepened when minutes later, Amasius had not stepped away. Draco felt as if he should do something, but he knew he was just an observer of the Spirit's dream; he could not make a difference if he tried. Suddenly, Capio grabbed his son by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to a mirror.

"You've passed the point of no return boy." Capio said and thrust the mirror in his hands. Amasius looked and Draco seemed to see from his eyes. He saw the Spirit's lover, Anna in her little cottage. She was eating something, when she turned to the door where somebody had walked in. They were talking and to Draco it meant nothing, but Amasius immediately tensed up and felt panic fill his lungs.

"That's someone from Armish's family!" he exclaimed with wide eyes. Amasius didn't know the man personally, but the resemblance was striking. "What is he doing there? How did they find her?" Capio didn't respond but nodded to the mirror. The scene changed and it could be seen that dozens of men were surrounding the cottage where Anna lived and holding their wands at it. Draco's eyes widened; his family was really against Amasius marrying this girl. Amasius broke out of his father's hold and pointed his wand at him. "If they so much as touch her, father I will kill them!" He yelled, the panic that had taken hold of him had immensely increasing. Those people wanted to hurt Anna and she didn't even know because she couldn't see them or how many there were! He had to go back and protect her; he wouldn't let her get hurt again.

"I know what you're thinking." Capio said immediately, pity in his eyes. "But it was not me who led them there. It was you; they've been following you for a while now and today specifically they found her." It felt like the breath in his lungs had been forced out. Amasius fell suddenly, punching at the floor, wishing he could punch himself for his stupidity. He never should have tried to find her; it was all his fault that they had found her. It would be all his fault if they hurt her. "The only way to keep her safe and the Silas family away from her is to do what they want." Draco felt pity for his relative, knowing exactly what was going to happen. If he was in the same position, he would probably do the same for Hermione. "If you really love the mudblood, you'll marry Armish."

* * *

Hermione was shaken from her dream and instead of seeing grey eyes and blond hair, she saw Professor Sprout. Hermione frowned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Professor?" she asked with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"It's early in the morning, Ms. Granger." She said, looking at Hermione with suspicion. "5:30 a.m. to be exact."

Hermione quickly pulled on a Gryffindor robe, hoping to distract the Professor from noticing some of Draco's clothes in her room. She was thankful that he wasn't in the room cuddling with her, but she felt his absence. "Is something going on?" she asked, imagining that Harry had gotten into trouble.

"Yes, and The Headmistress needs to talk you to sort out the problem." Hermione frowned, but nodded, wondering what McGonagall could possibly need to talk to her for at this hour. "How close are you and the Headboy?" Sprout asked later, as they walked through the silent school.

Hermione's thoughts immediately jumped to yesterday morning when Draco had kissed her, and yesterday afternoon in Hogsmeade. They hadn't talked much due to Pansy and Ron being there with them, and Hermione now regretted it, a bad feeling creeping up her spine.

"Professor, has something happened to Draco?" she asked in a steady voice. "I noticed he didn't come back to the Head dorms last night." Professor Sprout gave her a look as she said the password to the staircase that would lead to McGonagall's office.

"I'm not supposed to say anything," she said, and the bad feeling in Hermione's gut worsened. Now she was sure something had happened to Draco.

Hermione knocked on McGonagall's door and walked in to see a weeping Pansy, Narcissa Malfoy and the Headmistress herself. She felt her heart stop beating. If Narcissa was here, that meant it was very bad.

"Hermione," McGonagall said, noticing the girl's worried face, "Come and sit."

But Hermione couldn't look away from Pansy crying. "Has something happened to Draco?" She asked McGonagall. She could feel Narcissa and Pansy glaring at her, but nothing seemed to matter except the one word that came out of McGonagall's mouth.

"Yes." Hermione heard a gasp and realized that it was her that had made the noise. She couldn't think straight, she needed to see Draco, what had happened to him? "Hermione it's better if you sit down," McGonagall said, helping the shocked girl sit down and offering her a glass of water. Hermione gulped it down quickly and looked at McGonagall expectantly. "I know you want to know what has happened, but there are some questions I and Mrs. Malfoy need to talk to you about."

Hermione sighed and nodded. She'd do cartwheels for them if they wanted.

"First," McGonagall asked. "Did you give Malfoy that love potion that Madame Pompfrey told me he had ingested three weeks ago?"

"Of course she did," Pansy snapped, as she blew her nose.

Hermione frowned. This was what it was about? Pansy being upset at how Draco was treating Hermione, so she told his mother who in turn got mad at him? Yes. That had to be it. Nothing horrible could have happened to Draco; he was good at taking care of himself. She tried to tell her these things to relax, but her gut wouldn't let go of the bad feeling.

"I want to hear it from her mouth, Pansy." Narcissa said, and Hermione realized she had not answered the question.

"No, I did not." She said.

"What happened with you two that day?" Narcissa immediately asked. Hermione looked to Pansy because she was a terrible gossip, but decided McGonagall had invited that girl here for a reason so it would be okay to talk in front of her.

"It was a normal day, I went to all my classes and saw him in Ancient Ruins and he was fine. Then later at night when I was about to go to sleep, he came into my room." Pansy scoffed at this and everyone chose to ignore her. "I thought he was playing some sort of prank on me, but then as quickly as he came in my room, he fell asleep on my bed. I thought he had gone crazy and I was going to hex him, but then I realized he was running a fever, and his breath smelled of lavender. Immediately I realized he was poisoned, and that he wasn't consciously doing this."

"So you took him to the infirmary I assume?" Narcissa asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione blushed. "No, I didn't. See he – um. He was sort of holding me while sleeping on my bed so I couldn't really get away." Pansy narrowed her eyes at Hermione, horrified to find that this was the outcome of her first potion.

Narcissa pursed her lips, looking at Hermione with suspicion. "I see. So you allowed him to sleep in your room with you for the rest of the night?"

Hermione could feel herself blushing but managed to nod. "In the morning, needless to say he was surprised and pretty upset to find himself in my bed." Hermione managed to say the last bit without stuttering and mentally patted herself on the back. "I explained to him that he had been poisoned and he believed me because there was still lavender on his breath. We um, decided we would talk about this later, and went to our classes and such."

"Hermione you realize you and Mr. Malfoy should have told Madame Pompfrey immediately right?" Hermione nodded solemnly. "I realize that you both are the smartest in the whole school, but you cannot solve everything yourself." Hermione nodded again quickly. "So when did you go to Madame Pompfrey?" McGonagall asked with a sigh, wondering how her brightest students had made such a large error in judgment.

"Later that day in Ancient Ruins, he – um he said I smelled good. Better than the rest of the other girls at school." Hermione said, giving Pansy a small smirk. "So after that class we went together to Madame Pompfrey. She checked him and concluded-"

"That he had been affected by a horribly wrong love potion. We know, Madame Pompfrey told the Headmistress this much." Pansy said suddenly, with a bored expression on her face. Hermione wondered where her tears had gone.

"Ms. Parkinson." McGonagall said. "If you cannot act respectfully, I am going to kick you out." Pansy sighed and nodded. "Is there something you want to say about that day?"

Pansy thought about it, looking up at the ceiling trying to remember that day. "Not much," she said. "I just remember Draco being very rude to me and now that I think about it, he was being rude to everyone. Except Granger here of course." She said with a sneer.

Narcissa cleared her throat and they all turned to her. "Well, in his letters Draco mentioned you a couple times."

Hermione's eyes widened; he'd never told her. "What did he say?"

"In the beginning he talked about a girl who rivaled his academics, and from what your Headmistress is saying I'm assuming that was you. He didn't seem to like you, but two weeks ago, he started mentioning you again and how maybe he could learn a thing or two from you." Hermione blushed, having no idea that he complimented her in front of his mother. "And judging from your intelligence, I don't think you would mess up on a potion or even give an ill prepared potion to someone." Hermione nodded, thankful that Narcissa seemed to defend her. "However," she said and Hermione's heart plummeted again. "You are the only similarity – besides Draco – in today's problem and when he was first given that potion."

Hermione turned to McGonagall. "Today's problem? What is she talking about?" Hermione asked.

Everyone in the room could see the genuine worry on Hermione's face, but no one spoke up. "Before I tell you," McGonagall said. "I still need to ask you what you did all of yesterday."

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed. As soon as she answered this one questions they would tell her. "Alright," she said. "Yesterday, he invited Ron and I to Hogsmeade for lunch because he said Pansy wanted to relax after presenting our group project in Potions."

McGonagall turned to Pansy. "So you were there?" she asked, and Pansy nodded, hoping Hermione didn't remember that Pansy had brought the drinks to their table.

"We chatted and had butterbeers together, and then left about half an hour later." Pansy said. "I saw Draco leaving a store and I was going to catch up with him when he suddenly collapsed."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, turning to Pansy. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Pansy asked jumping out of her seat.

"Ms. Parkinson, sit down." McGonagall said, glaring at the girl. Reluctantly she did, glaring at Hermione the whole time.

"Will someone please tell me what's happened to him?" Hermione exclaimed, panic gripping her gut as Pansy began to cry again.

"One thing before we tell you Ms. Granger." Narcissa said suddenly. "When my son gets better, you will stay away from him." Hermione sighed in frustration. "Listen to me child, my son has been given a love potion that affected you and him. And now after he comes back from a trip to Hogsmeade with you he gets ill again? I don't see this as a coincidence." Hermione felt her jaw go slack. Narcissa was blaming her for whatever had happened to Draco, and as punishment, she wanted her to stay away from him. But she didn't understand- Hermione didn't think she could go a day like that. And would Draco himself even listen?

"But you cannot even prove that I did something to hurt him!" Hermione exclaimed. "All you're going on is the fact that I am the same variable in both situations." She looked to McGonagall for help, but her lips were pressed in a straight line. "Me and Draco hated each other since our first year at Hogwarts, and we still hated each other in the beginning of the year. I saw no good in him, but now I do, and I value him as a friend. I would never slip him a potion to fall in love with me."

"You're lucky I'm not withdrawing him from the school." Narcissa snapped at her. "Draco is everything I have young lady. I will not let anything happen to him, especially at such a young age, and by such a frivolous such as teenage romance!" Hermione bit her lip. She could see where Narcissa was coming from, but wasn't sure she could agree. "When he gets better he will have a different room than you as well as different classes. If you try to contact him, I will make you regret it Ms. Granger. Are we clear?" she asked, and a silence fell over the four women.

Hermione struggled to breathe through her nose properly. It wasn't like she would never see Draco again; who knew if he would even agree to this. But what if he did? But him being here where she could at least see him smile was better than Narcissa withdrawing him. Hermione sighed in defeat. "Yes, fine. We'll stay away from each other." She said at last. Narcissa nodded and stood up, heading toward the floo. "Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione said, and Narcissa paused before she dropped the ashes. "I know you don't believe a thing I say but I just want you to know that Draco has become a very important part of my life. I would never hurt him." Narcissa saw the honesty in Hermione's eyes and felt the weight of her words but dropped the floo powder without a response.

Hermione sighed and turned back to McGonagall. "Will you please tell me what's happened to Draco now?" she asked. Hermione could see the pity in the Headmistress's eyes for her and Hermione's gut clenched, wondering how bad it was.

Pansy also sat up straighter, she had not been told what had really happened to Draco because of her potion.

"Draco Malfoy is in a coma right now." McGonagall said slowly. Hermione felt the world tip around her, but forced herself to focus on McGonagall's words. "The potion he was given initially must have mixed with another potion or drink he has ingested." Pansy felt her gut clench; this was her fault. All her fault. "Madame Pomfrey has looked at him and is trying to find the two ingredients in him that have made his body shut down. Narcissa Malfoy has also called for special healers from-"

"How long does Madame Pompfrey think he'll be in a coma?" Hermione interrupted, feeling sick saying those words.

McGonagall sighed. "It depends on the ingredients, you understand Hermione. What's caused this could be anything and-"

"So she doesn't know?" Hermione interrupted, as the world tipped over more and tears formed in her eyes.

"Is there anything she does know?" Pansy exclaimed, frustrated.

Hermione tuned out of their conversation and began to massage her head. How could this have happened? First the spirits, the love potion, and now this? Was someone purposefully attacking him? Obviously he had many enemies but was their intention to hurt him, or give him a love potion that worked?

Wiping the corner of her eyes, Hermione stood up. It would do her no good to go through these what ifs in her head. There were too many possibilities, too many thoughts running through her head at one time.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." Hermione said, standing up. "I - um. I think I need to go back to my dorm now." She said, sniffing.

McGonagall nodded and her door opened. "Hermione, he will be okay." she said. Hermione nodded, not really believing it.

Hermione planned to go straight to the Headdorms but her feet took her to the infirmary. Opening the squeaky door, she stepped in to see Madame Pompfrey brewing something. She turned around to see Hermione.

"Ms. Granger." she said. "Mrs. Malfoy requested that you aren't allowed to-"

"Please," Hermione said, tears forming in her eyes. "I just need to see him for one minute."

The mediwitch looked at her with confusion, but eventually nodded. "Just one minute." she said, leading Hermione to a bed.

Laying upon the bed in a hospital gown was Draco Malfoy. Hermione was at his side in a second. She knew he was in a coma but he looked so lifeless, albeit the slow rising and falling of his chest.

She didn't even realize she was crying until a tear fell on his shirt. Hermione held his hand and began crying more when his fingers did not curl back around hers. She wondered how this had happened to him, just when they were becoming close. Just when she was starting to think of Draco Malfoy as more than arrogant and hostile. Just when she was starting to feel secure about her life and Draco's part in it, he had been taken away from her.

"You should go now dear," Madame Pompfrey said, appearing at Hermione's side. "You have classes in the morning, and you need to rest."

Hermione nodded, letting go of Draco's hand and trying to stop her tears.

"I imagine you'll have a hard time falling asleep so drink some of this to help you sleep." she said handing Hermione a vial of dreamless sleeping drought.

Hermione nodded and left, giving Draco one last glance.

The rest of the day went horribly for Hermione. She hadn't gotten any sleep, had missed her first class as well as breakfast, and everyone was staring at her. She knew Pansy couldn't have been trusted with this information and now every where she turned, she could hear people whispering about her and Draco.

And then when she had to go to Ancient Ruins, she couldn't stop staring at the seat next to her where Draco should be. She wondered when he would wake up. In the muggle world people could stay in a coma for years. She hoped there would be magic to wake him hat would not take years.

Her only solace was the library. She had gone there during lunch and found it more peaceful than sitting around people who kept whispering about her. But before she could hide there during dinner, Harry, Ron and Ginny found her and dragged her to eat.

"I know you're hungry Hermione." Harry said as she protested.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, dreading walking to the Great Hall.

"You missed breakfast and lunch, Hermione." Ron said.

"Besides," Ginny said. "We miss talking with you."

Hermione sighed. She supposed she couldn't hide in the library forever. And she was hungry. Dinner was actually going okay while she was talking to her three close friends, and then she caught herself staring at the Slytherin table. Shaking her head, Hermione drank some water to calm her heart rate. Draco wasn't here, and he probably wasn't going to be back for a while. She would just have to stop thinking about him.

"So how is he in bed, Hermione?" a Slytherin asked as she walked past Hermione.

She clenched her fist but didn't turn around. Ginny gave Hermione a worried look. "So anyway," she said, trying to lighten the mood. But it didn't work, the damage was done and everyone began whispering about Hermione again.

Hermione sighed. Maybe she would start some homework early. Giving her friends a small excuse, she slipped away. She had planned to go to the library but that required passing the hospital wing, and that led her to peek inside.

He was the first thing she focused on. As she walked near him, she half expected him to open his eyes and complain about being in the infirmary. But he did not of course. She sighed and sat down next to him. It looked like many people had visited. There were an assortment of cards left, mostly by girls though. Hermione frowned as she looked briefly at the cards; did he not have any guy friends who left him something? Not even a note or some chocolate?

Then she realized that aside from meals and Quidditch, Draco and Hermione were always together. Whether it be reading books or just talking, it was usually them together, all day, everyday. This made the sadness in Hermione grow. He used to be the first thing she saw and the last thing she thought of everyday. And now, with him gone there was an empty space in her life that she didn't know what to fill with. What had she done with her life before Draco came and changed it?

_What's wrong with him?_ The spirit, Anna, asked in Hermione's head. _Your teacher said he's in a coma, what does that mean?_

Hermione frowned, wondering if the spirit was uneducated. _It's when your body inside is working, but your brain does not respond to any stimuli._

_Well when will he get better? I can't talk to Amasius with the brain in those state?_

_Amasius who? _Hermione wondered. _The other spirit? What do you mean you can't talk to him?_

But she got no response back. Hermione sighed, thinking about the spirits. Hermione and Draco really hadn't gone far with finding out about them, and without him, she was as confused as ever.

Soon she heard someone coming and quickly got up; she didn't want to add flame to the rumors.

Later in her room, Hermione had finished her homework and was laying in bed wearing Draco's clothes. She didn't know why; but it made her feel safe and not as upset about him not being with her. Merlin, she had to stop thinking about him so much. She changed back in her own pajamas and lay on her bed to think.

Getting up, Hermione pulled out from under her bed a Dark Arts book that Draco had taken from her numerous times. He claimed he had started reading it before her, but Hermione noticed he just flipped through the book with out really reading it. This intrigued Hermione because as she read it, she found a lot of valuable information.

There were spells to see and communicate with spirits as well as detailed descriptions of what would happen. There were also plenty of wandless spells and Hermione found she wanted to try some. Soon she was yawning and made her way to Draco's bedroom. It wasn't her initial plan but the room reminded her of Draco, and she missed him so much.

Apart from the green and silver, his room was alright and Hermione fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Draco was tired as he was pulled into another memory. It was the fourth one so far. He didn't know if he was dreaming, or how long it had been. All he knew was the life Amasius showed him.

This time the memory was of Amasius and Anna in a library. It seemed he was her tutor but they seemed to be flirting more than studying. Draco rolled his eyes as the girl giggled at something Amasius said.

Then something to his right caught his attention. It was a girl dressed in some boy clothes. A girl, who had a striking resemblance to Hermione!

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she made eye contact with him. She knew it was him the moment she opened her eyes; something in her heart just told her. Before she knew it she was walking toward him.

Draco licked his lips as she came closer. It felt like he hadn't seen her in forever. But how was it that she was here, in Amasius's memory? In his dream?

When she finally reached him, he could feel a smile tugging at his lips. He held his arms out and she fell into them, embracing him.

"Draco." Hermione breathed, afraid to blink in case Draco disappeared. This was like a dream come true. Literally.

Draco held her hand and led her to the table where Amasius and Anna were sitting. "These are the spirits, Hermione." he told her. "Amasius, the guy, had been showing me his memories for a while now." Hermione nodded, she knew who they were. "But, how are you here?" he asked her.

Hermione led him to another table. "The last thing I remember is falling asleep." she said thinking, and then gasped when she remembered more. Draco frowned, noticing her pained expression. "Draco what's the last thing you remember?"

Draco bit his lip, thinking. "Um, having a butterbeer with you, Weasely and Pansy." he said. "Why?"

Hermione let go of his hand and put her hands on either side of his face. "Draco, when I tell you don't panic okay?" Draco frowned at her and Hermione sighed, the days' emotions flooding back into her. "Draco, you're in a coma."

Draco jumped back from her touch as if she had hurt him. "What?" have asked, eyes wide. "How can I be in a coma and still see you? What happened to me? How long have I been in a coma?"

"I don't know, you drank something that must have mixed with the love potion already in you and it made you ill." Hermione sighed as Draco looked at her, still shocked. "You've been in a coma for one day now." she said. "But don't worry, Madame Pompfrey is looking after you and you mother hired some fancy healers. You'll be back in no time." she decided to skip the part about not being able to see him when he got better because of his mom.

Draco felt like his head was going to explode. He was in a coma. "So how are you here with me?" he asked suddenly. "Are you in a coma too?"

"No, Draco. I just fell asleep." He felt an immense weight lifting his shoulders when he heard this. "I'm guessing because of the spirits we can see each other through my dreaming." Hermione said with a sudden smile.

Draco nodded, still in shock.

"So," Hermione said, looking around. "How does this work? Are there certain rules like we can't touch anything?"

Draco shrugged. "All I know is we can't make a difference because these are memories; we can't change what already happened. Nothing bad has happened to me, but every so often I get thrown into another memory and get disoriented for a few minutes."

Hermione nodded, turning back to Draco. "I've missed you," she said softly.

"Is that why you're wearing my clothes?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Hermione blushed, having forgotten that she had changed into them again. He smiled and held her hands, surprised that next words he said were genuine. "I missed you too. There's no one real here but me. Anything happening while I've been in this coma?"

Hermione sighed. "People found out that you were given a potion that made you have feelings for me."

"And I'm assuming they're not treating you kindly after hearing that? Especially the Slytherins?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, but I'll manage." she turned back to the couple. "How's things with the spirits?"

Draco took a couple of minutes explaining to her what he had seen so far and explaining the story of the spirits.

"So, he's your relative?" Hermione asked, eyeing Amasius and trying to see the resemblance. Draco nodded. "Do you think that these spirits chose us for a reason then?" she asked. "Like, maybe he chose you, another Malfoy, because he thought you would understand."

"But how did they turn into just spirits in the first place?" Draco wondered.

"Sometimes there's a spell to conjure the soul of the deceased." Hermione said quietly, thinking back to a book she had read. "But it has to be done as soon as someone dies. And I've never heard of spirits actually attaching themselves to peoples' minds."

"Wow, something the great Hermione Granger does not know." Draco smirked at her. "That's a first."

Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up to pace. "This is no time for jokes Draco. What if we never get rid of them? What if we have to live with someone else inside our head? A person could go mad,"

Draco stood in front of her and held her arms to stop her pacing. Hermione looked up at him, worry in her eyes. "We're both pretty clever individuals if I do say so myself. We'll figure something out." he said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

Hermione immediately relaxed. "You're right," she said with a smile. "I've been reading those books you brought, and one of them has a spell on how to communicate with a spirit. Maybe I can find out from Anna how she became like this; a spirit in my head. Maybe there is a counter spell or curse or something."

Draco nodded. "See, we'll be fine."

Hermione nodded and noticed that Draco seemed to be shimmering in front of her. "I think I'm waking up," she said.

"Fine, I'll see you again when you fall asleep tonight." Draco said, noticing Hermione's panicked face. "And don't say "What if we don't?" because we will."

Hermione sighed. "How can you be so sure?"

Draco rolled his eyes and answered her with a kiss. "Just keep researching about those spirits. Don't worry about anything else." Draco watched Hermione fade away and wondered, why she didn't have that specific smell that the love potion had made her have anymore.

* * *

A/N: thank you all for the wonderful reviews even though I didn't reach my goal. I didn't kill off Draco or make him a spirit, don't worry he should be awake in a chapter or three. I'd say at max, there's five chapters left and I'm done! I'm actually really proud of this story and I hope you guys are enjoying it. Review my loves!

To any vampire diaries fans: go search up the author CBK1000. I have fallen in love with their stories, and you will not regret reading them.

Maximum ride fans: go read Liar in the Mirror. Seriously. It's grand.

To any Once Upon A Time fans: WHERE ARE YOU. I have fallen in love with that show this month. I need people to share my excitement with!


	18. Chapter 18

WHOP 18

Hermione awoke with a jolt. She thought she might feel better after having seen Draco, but she just felt more agitated that he wasn't here with her. Not to mention a headache was starting.

After freshening up and summoning some coffee, Hermione went to work, looking up ingredients that would make a person fall into a coma. She didn't care that it was Monday and she had classes, she didn't care that Draco had the best healers looking after him, all that mattered was helping Draco.

_I need to see him!_ The spirit screeched in Hermione's head.

She whimpered and clutched her head at the sudden noise, amplified by her headache.

"You can't right now," Hermione said, making a fist, trying to ignore the pain. She had taken a Pepper Up potion, but it hadn't helped much, nor did it make the spirit be quiet.

_I miss him, it hurts me not to be able to hear him._ Hermione was sure the Spirit's mood was affecting her own, because she felt tears prick her eyes.

But she couldn't go see Draco. She would probably get kicked out and just get in the way of the Healers anyway. Then, thinking about Draco gave her an idea how to calm the spirit.

Leaving her things, Hermione hurried to the section of the library that had family biographies. Searching the spines, Hermione smiled when she reached 'Malfoy'.

_Do you think Amasius is in there? _The spirit asked, hopefully. Hermione nodded. _That's the plan._ Maybe seeing a portrait of him would calm the spirit for a while and keep it quiet so she could concentrate on helping Draco.

In the beginning of the book was Draco, the youngest Malfoy. Hermione's hand froze on the page. The picture of him was clearly taken during the war. Back when Draco had that empty, hallow look in his eyes. Sure the photographer had done their best to make him look like powerful and charming, but Hermione could see the exhaustion in him. His smirk didn't quite reach up to his eyes and his fist was clenched more than necessary. This picture was the perfect example of 'stressed, depressed, and well dressed'.

She turned the page, sensing the spirit was getting agitated. She kept flipping back until the spirit yelled in her head to stop. The page she stopped at had a portrait of the man in her dream.

_Oh Amasius, _the spirit sighed.

The pounding in Hermione's head lessened and she almost whooped aloud in happiness. It seemed that just seeing the Spirit's picture made Ana a hundred times more happier. _Must be love,_ Hermione thought with a smile. Even though the spirit was clearly nothing but trouble, she had to admire what they had gone through.

But _why_ were they spirits? Draco had seen in Amasius's memory that they loved each other very much. Sure, his father had been talking about marrying him off to another girl but he hadn't really done that had he? Not when he was in love Ana?

Curious, Hermione looked on the next page and began reading about Amasius. He was born in 1750 and was the youngest of four children, blah blah blah. Turning the page again, Hermione began to read about the end of his life.

Amasius Malfoy married Armish Wott in 1776. They had one child, Tiner Malfoy before Amasius passed away in 1782. His death was not publicly known until his funeral. It is said he died of a curse his past lover, Ana Iva, inflicted on him. Armish Malfoy did not marry again, claiming no one could fix her broken heart.

Hermione frowned. So he hadn't married Ana. Going back to the shelf, Hermione looked for Iva, trying to research about the spirit attached to her.

Turns out there were a lot of Wizarding families with the name "Iva". When she came across a rather thin book, Hermione felt it was the right one. She didn't have to search long before she found Ana Iva. It looked like the blood line ended after her nephew died at birth.

Ana Iva was born on May 15th, 1753. She went to Hogwarts and was rumored to be in a relationship with the powerful, Amasius Malfoy. She was the co author of the book "Secrets of the Dead" with Turano Feri. She died without ever marrying in 1782 by suicide.

Hermione almost dropped the book in surprise. Suicide? Draco hadn't said anything about that. And it wasn't like the Spirit was unstable or anything. She just seemed like just another girl in love.

Frowning, Hermione put the book away, feeling a sudden need to talk to Draco again.

Back in the common room she had trouble falling asleep seeing it was 1 pm in the afternoon. Sighing, Hermione drank the last of the sleeping drought. Her mind kept replaying what Draco said about the lovers and what she had seen, but she couldn't seem to figure out why Ana would've taken her own life.

Since sleep wasn't coming to her, Hermione decided to try looking into the Spirit's memories. She didn't have any memories like Draco had seen, but she knew that the spirit was very affectionate toward Amasius.

Hermione took a couple of deep breaths to relax and focus on the image of Amasius in the book. Shaking away any doubt, Hermione pointed her wand at her temple, and delved into the memories awaiting in the back of her head.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Hermione opened her eyes to see a room of pink. She guessed it was a girl's room and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a portrait of Ana on the dresser.

Hermione heard a door open downstairs and went there, curious.

She saw Amasius step into the little cottage and close the door behind him. He looked like he had been through hell to get here; his clothes were disheveled and torn, and he was limping. But Ana seemed to take no notice and started kissing him. He pulled her against him and kissed her back with the ferocity that made it seem like he was about to lose her.

Hermione blushed and looked away. They both looked so passionate for each other and Hermione felt as if she were interrupting.

And couple minutes later they broke apart and Amasius pushed her away. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Ana I - we-"

"Oh Amasius," she said in a breathy voice, grabbing hold of his hand. "They said they'd try to keep us apart, but I knew you'd find me. I knew you'd come."

Hermione watched as a lone tear escaped Amasius's eye. He didn't respond to Ana immediately and the two girls could feel the sudden tension in the air.

"Amasius, darling. What ever is the matter?" she guided her hand up his arm and eventually cupped his face with her hands. "I'm here now. We're here together. Every thing is going to be alright now."

"Ana I came to say goodbye." he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

She stepped away from him as if he'd struck her. He reached out for her but stopped at the last second.

"I'm going to marry Armish." he said, and Hermione could tell he was having a hard time not crying. Merlin, Hermione herself was having a hard time not crying.

Ana's face seemed to crumple and she fell on the floor, covering her hands with her face. "This can't be happening!" she wailed.

Amasius immediately kneeled down beside and and pulled her into a hug. "Please do not cry, Ana, my love." he whispered.

She violently pushed away from him, sobbing openly. "Do not call me that!" Hermione could feel all the emotions rolling off Ana and was wondered how this girl hadn't collapsed with grief. "Don't you dare, when you will be marrying that - that horrible girl soon. You have no right to call me that."

"Ana, I'm sorry." he said.

"Why?" she yelled at him. "Why are you marrying her? How can you even do this when you told me so many times you loved me?" Amasius didn't respond. "How can you just leave me here, after everything? How can you open your arms - your heart to the girl who was the first person that suggested to throw me here in this isolation?" Amasius looked like he wanted to break something. "I left my family and home for you. My eyesight was taken away from me because of you. I have nothing! Oh Merlin." she whispered the last part as if she had come to a sudden realization. "I truly have nothing."

"Ana, I-"

"How can you do this to me, Amasius? How can you claim to have loved me, kiss me so deeply, and then leave me with nothing?" When she didn't respond, Ana sighed, crying a little less. "Why did you come here? To watch me cry? To watch me beg at your feet to take me back? To remind me of how I have nothing? To tell me how alone I am now? To laugh in my face because you got the heart of an innocent girl and broke it without a second thought? Is that why you came here?"

"I truly want to do nothing more to take you in my arms right now Ana, and leave this wretched land." His words sounded so sincere Hermione wondered why he didn't do just that.

Suddenly Ana stood up and slapped him. She had stopped crying completely and Hermione could feel the anger that was shaking the very bones in Ana's body. "Don't you dare say such words to me. Don't you dare say such things that will give me hope, only to walk away from me." Amasius looked like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut. "Why did you come here Amasius?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Amasius stood up and looked into Ana's unseeing eyes. He steeled himself against the wave of emotions that were threatening to overcome him and spoke. "I came here because I want to invite you to the wedding." Hermione didn't know whether she wanted Ana to slap him again or cry. "It is exactly two months from today." He ran a hand in his hair and Hermione could see his resolve breaking. "I - you were truly the best thing in my life Ana. I know you probably hate me right now, and so do I actually. But I could not just let you live your life without at least knowing what I am about to do. Ana, the man I am today, is because of you. I want you to be there at the wedding because I don't know if I can go through with it without you there." He pressed an envelope in her hand. "You'll need this to get in the wedding. There will be no more guards around your house anymore; you are welcome to do as you please."

She let the wedding invitation fall to the ground and Amasius sighed, taking that as his cue to leave. His hand was on the door when she finally spoke.

"If you're not sure you can go through with the wedding, Amasius, why do it?"

He gulped, imagining how she would react if he told her the truth. Well, he knew certainly how his father would react. He'd slice Ana's throat in front of him and crucio him down the aisle if he had to. If he didn't tell her, at least Ana would get to live. Maybe one day she'd get her sight back and meet another guy. A guy that could actually be with her.

"It's just something I have - I want to do. Take care of yourself, Ana." he said and left without a backward glance.

When the door closed, Ana fell to the floor, sobbing. Hermione wanted to run to the fragile girl, hold her until she stopped crying, and to run after Amasius, but everything suddenly faded to black.

* * *

Draco sat at the back of the wedding ceremony, listening to the couple repeat the vows after the priest when Hermione materialized beside him. He smiled, but then noticed her expression and the tears on her face.

"Hermione?" he exclaimed holding her hand and vowing to crush the person's skull responsible for making her cry.

"Dr- Draco?" she asked, her vision coming into view. She suddenly embraced him, throwing her arms him. "Oh, I found you."

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately. Hermione explained to him what she had read about in the library and what she had seen in the memory. "Well, I guess that's the Armish girl." he said pointing to the front where the two newlyweds were putting on their wedding rings and saying an incantation that would make their magic stronger.

"I always assumed they died together and somehow had a spell on each other so they could be together, as spirits, beyond death." Hermione said. "But now that he left her, maybe she got angry made them spirits on accident in an attempt to be with him after death,"

"And maybe he's showing me all his memories so I understand that she did it."

"And why she did it." Hermione added. "What if they - he needs our help?" Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "What if I don't know, he doesn't want to be a spirit with her. Maybe he just wants to be laid down to rest like his body."

"And how are we supposed to help him do that?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, maybe there's a clue in one of his memories. Has anything happened, like an interaction between him and Ana throughout the whole wedding?" Hermione asked, spotting Ana in the third row of people. Needless to say, she did not look happy about the newly wed couple.

Draco shrugged. "Not really. Since you left, this is only the second memory I've been thrown into. Which makes me wonder, what time is it there? Last time you came in my dream, I had gone through nearly half a dozen memories." Only then did he notice she was still wearing her Gryffindor uniform.

Hermione bit her lip, staring straight at the couple ahead. "It's nighttime, Draco what else?" But she was never good at lying these days, and Draco could tell.

"Hermione," he said slowly. "Look at me." she could feel Draco glaring at her and sighed, defeated. "What did you do?"

She shifted her legs nervously. "I don't know, exactly."

Draco frowned, moving so she was directly facing him. "What do you mean you don't know? What did you do? "

"Well, remember when we did that meditation sort of exercise on you? The one that you did to see that, memory of the Spirts?"

"The one that resulted in Amasius practically choking me? The one that I told you we were not going to do on you?" Hermione nodded. "Hermione, what were you thinking!"

She flinched at his tone. "Well I just wanted to know what's going on with these spirits! And it worked so there's no need to worry."

"What do you mean there's no need to worry? You used that trick to see a memory of the spirit; not be here with me!"

Hermione frowned. "Well I took some sleeping drought before doing it, so maybe that's why,"

"Or, while you were busy watching her memory that spirit could have done something to you to knock you unconscious and thereby sending you here." Draco was pretty sure Hermione was a smart girl but a stunt like this was what he expected from a Weasely, not her! "Hermione you could be seriously hurt, you need to wake up." He demanded, clutching her shoulders.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I'm already here and there is no way for me to get out without someone waking me." she turned away from him stubbornly and followed the crowd, who had begun to go outside with the couple.

He sighed, why didn't this girl understand the danger she could be in? "I go into a come for a couple of days and you're acting foolish."

Ignoring that comment, Hermione looked around to see that the couple was now taking some pictures with their friends. "Hey Draco, look! Ava is taking a picture with them." Hermione nudged him and they looked just in time to see Ava press a note into Amasius's hand while taking a picture with the couple.

"What do you think it says?" Draco wondered, when suddenly the world began to shake. The wedding guests didn't seem to notice so Draco guessed it was only happening to them.

"Guess you got your wish!" Hermione hollered over the loud shaking. "Maybe I am waking up."

"No, I don't think so because I can feel it too!" he said, grabbing hold of her hand. "Maybe we're changing into a new memory."

Hermione looked around to see the scene shimmering around them. It was unnerving, but it helped that Draco was with her. "Well let's hope we end up in the same place," she said, holding on to him tighter.

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes to see she was back in Ana's cottage - without Draco. There was a loud crash somewhere and Hermione momentarily forgot about her loneliness. She followed the sound to the back of the cottage where it looked like Ana was brewing a potion.

She saw a cauldron bubbling, but didn't see Ana. However, there was a book that was open to a specific page. On the top it said "Keeping Two Souls Together, Forever". Hermione gasped in horror when she saw that it was a dark magic book. Is this what had turned Ana and Amasius into spirits?

At that moment Ana appeared and stepped up to the potion. She had a tea kettle with her and set it down beside the cauldron. Hermione watched as she dipped a spoon into the cauldron and then put some of the potion into the tea. As soon as she did that, the potion in the cauldron blew up, leaving only ash where the potion used to be. Then, Ana ripped out the two pages that had the instructions for the poem and lit them on fire with her wand. _To make sure no one finds any evidence, _Hermione thought in horror.

She followed a smiling Ana back to the cottage, where Amasius was. And so was Draco.

When he saw her, he immediately smiled.

"What is he doing here?" Hermione asked, pointing to Amasius.

"Remember that note Ana gave him at the wedding? Well it said for him to meet Ana at her cottage the day after the first full moon of the year. Which is today, obviously. Armish told him it was rather odd, but he came anyway. I suppose he still loves Ana."

Hermione suddenly felt very lightheaded, realizing why Ana chose this particular day. She ran up to the table where they were sitting and yelled at Amasius, "Don't drink it!" when Ana poured him a cup of tea. She tried lunging for the cup, but her hand only went through.

"Hermione I told you we can't leave any impact on these events. They're memories. They're in the past, and we can't change it. Why do you want to change it anyway?"

"She poisoned the drink!" Hermione exclaimed and watched in horror as they both drank their cups of tea at the same time.

Amasius smiled before suddenly dropping the cup and cringing. He yelled out in pain and suddenly a dozen body guards ran into the little cottage. Amasius clutched his chest and looked in shock at Ana. "What have you done?"

She was clearly having trouble breathing as well, but managed not to cry out. "Making it possible for us to be together, dear Amasius." she said with a toothy grin and promptly fainted.

"Mr. Malfoy? What's wrong?" the guards asked, trying to help him out of the chair.

"Hermione, what happened?" Draco asked her, surprised at the scene unfolding before him.

"Dark magic Draco. She poisoned both of their drinks with dark magic." Hermione said sadly watching as the guards levitated Amasius and handcuffed an unconscious Ana.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello wonderful readers and sorry for the one month delay. I've just been busy with new college and I've also started writing a couple more stories. I really loved the drama in this chapter, it's so much fun to write about the spirits! But anyway we'll be getting back to more Dramione angst in the next two chapters, and that'll probably end the story. Thanks to everyone who reads this story and I really hope you've enjoyed the chapter :)

**don't forget to REVIEW **


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I didn't realize until too late that there are too many characters with the letter A so to clarify:

Amasius: previously love Ana, married Armish, spirit inside Draco's head

Armish: married Amasius; not a spirit

Ana: loves Amasius; spirit inside Hermione's head

* * *

Previously:

_Hermione felt very lightheaded, realizing why Ana chose this particular day. She ran up to the table where they were sitting and yelled at Amasius, "Don't drink it!" when Ana poured him a cup of tea. She tried lunging for the cup, but her hand only went through._

"_Hermione I told you we can't leave any impact on these events. They're memories. They're in the past, and we can't change it. Why do you want to change it anyway?"_

"_She poisoned the drink!" Hermione exclaimed and watched in horror as they both drank their cups of tea at the same time._

_Amasius smiled at himself before suddenly dropping the cup and cringing. He yelled out in pain and suddenly a dozen body guards ran into the little cottage. Amasius clutched his chest and looked in shock at Ana. "What have you done?"_

_She was clearly having trouble breathing as well, but managed not to cry out. "Making it possible for us to be together, dear Amasius." She said with a toothy grin and promptly fainting._

"_Mr. Malfoy? What's wrong?" The guards asked, trying to help him out of the chair._

"_Hermione what happened?" Draco asked her, surprised at the scene unfolding before them._

"_Dark magic Draco. She poisoned both of their drinks with dark magic." Hermione said sadly watching as the guards levitated Amasius and handcuffed an unconscious Ana._

Chapter 19

Draco grunted as he started to sit up. He didn't remember falling down or leaving the previous memory, but here he was. Looking around, Draco tried to gather his bearings and figure out what "here" actually meant. All around him was pitch blackness but there seemed to be some sort of solid ground making it possible for him to walk. There were no walls around him that he could feel, and Draco wondered how this was possible.

Suddenly, a light appeared behind him and he turned to see Amasius in the flesh. "So you're the boy whose head I'm in, huh?" Amasius asked him, examining him with narrow eyes.

"I am hardly a boy." Draco snapped at him with the usual Malfoy glare. Amasius smiled at him.

"Typical Malfoy," Amasius said, rolling his eyes. "Always trying to seem powerful."

Draco sniffed and looked around again. "So where am I?" he asked.

Amasius looked around and shrugged. "In your mind I guess? After that memory I showed you I thought of talking to you face to face and here we are."

Draco nodded, deciding he could trust Amasius. They were in his head- in his subconscious; it wasn't like they could hurt each other. "Speaking of that memory, is that how you and Ana turned into spirits?" he asked.

Amasius nodded. "She brewed a potion, put it in my tea and after I died, I found myself as a spirit. We could not communicate as just spirits so Ana would choose a body to latch onto, and automatically my spirit also latched onto the person closest. Most of the time it did not work, sometimes we would end up in animals or even plants. This is the second time it has worked with people."

"What happened the first time?" Draco asked. "And how did you get out of the people or animals you were in?"

Amasius sighed and looked away. "We stay with the body until it dies." He said and Draco suddenly felt sick. "It was easy with animals but when we attached to humans, we drove them mad I think. Ana especially. They killed themselves because they thought they were going crazy hearing our voices."

Draco stepped away from his relative. "So you and Ana won't leave Hermione and me until we die?" he asked.

Amasius sighed. "I am so sorry."

"Like hell you are. I bet you're enjoying this." Draco snapped at him. "First you fell in love with Ana, then married Armish and now after you're dead you have Ana again. You don't have to be alone and you can live forever inside another's body. What the hell do you have to feel sorry for?"

"I never wanted my life to be like this. I do not want to be a spirit holding onto other bodies until they die. I loved Ana but I never wanted this. I never even agreed to this." He exclaimed, but Draco continued to glare at him. "Maybe this will prove it to you." Amasius said in a tired voice, and the world seemed to collapse around Draco once again.

* * *

Hermione woke up as her wristwatch sounded the alarm. "Draco?" she called out before remembering everything that had happened. Sighing, she checked the time to see that it was 5 p.m. She had been "sleeping" for 3 hours now.

For the next hour, she tried to concentrate on homework but her mind kept drifting back to the spirits. From what she had seen, Ana had poisoned Amasius with a potion that had turned them into sprits. And there was no way to try and counter the potion because Hermione did not know what Ana had put in it.

Realizing she was getting nowhere with her studies, Hermione put her books away and left for the library. She began looking for books to determine what ingredients Ana could have used when Ron, Harry, and Ginny appeared at her side. "Hey you guys," she said, briefly looking at her friends before diving into the book again.

"Hermione, I think we should talk." Ginny said.

"About?" Hermione really did want to talk to her friends but right now she had more important things to do. She had to find a way to counteract Ana's potion; she couldn't live with another voice in her head forever. Especially one that was in love with the spirit attached to Draco.

"About you and Malfoy," Ron grumbled, not looking too happy.

Harry shot him a look and said, "About how you've been skipping your classes and meals. We barely see you anymore and when we do it's only for a moment. What's going on?"

"I don't know if you guys have heard, but there is a rumor going around saying that Draco was given a potion that made him have feelings for me." She looked Ron dead in the eye and said, "It isn't just a rumor; it's true. It was some sort of love potion made wrong. And apparently he was given another potion which mixed with the one he had previously ingested, which forced his body into a coma. And I'm having a really hard time dealing with this because I've grown used to him being at my side, and talking to him, and I'm really worried about-"

"Hermione we know all this." Harry said suddenly.

"Pansy confessed to giving Draco both potions this morning." Ginny added.

"Pansy?" Hermione exclaimed, as everything seemed to make some sense.

Ginny nodded. "The first potion was supposed to make you and Malfoy hate each other, but she's not so good at potions so it backfired. And the second potion was a love potion and even though it was made properly, its purpose also backfired and put Malfoy in a coma," she said.

"But you don't have to worry." Ron said. "He's got some fancy, expert healers looking after him. They'll fix his arrogant ass before you know it. There's no need to worry so much."

"Wait a minute," Hermione said, feeling her gut clench. "Ginny, you said that Pansy confessed this morning to giving Draco the potions. It's been a whole day. How come these expert healers don't have him feeling better yet?"

The other three looked at each other confusedly but Hermione felt like she was going to be sick. She had no doubt that Narcissa would have hired the best healers from around the world, and she was sure that they would have gotten Draco out of the coma by now. Something was wrong.

"I have to go." Pushing the book back in the shelf, she rushed past her friends and to the infirmary.

Sure enough, she saw no healers at Draco's bed. There was only Narcissa Malfoy at his side. Mrs. Malfoy sniffed when she saw Hermione, but did not say anything when Hermione held Draco's hand, which was colder than before. Something was definitely wrong.

"They've been trying the whole day." Narcissa said to Hermione. "Pansy told the healers exactly what she had used and how much but – there's something else wrong."

"What do you mean there's something else wrong?" Hermione asked in a wobbly voice. She was hoping this was all a bad dream. There was nothing wrong with Draco. The healers were going to work their magic and he was going to wake up any second now.

"The healers had gotten both of the potions out of his bloodstream early this morning, but he didn't wake up. Oh Draco," Narcissa sniffed, pushing back the hair from his face. "His body is working fine but his brain just-"

"What do you mean he won't wake up?" Hermione asked in a shrill voice. "Draco!" she exclaimed grabbing the lifeless body's shoulders. "Draco you bloody fool, wake up right now! Don't you see your mother crying for you? Wake the bloody hell up!"

Hermione gasped when Narcissa wrenched her away from Draco. "Stop that you idiotic girl!" she yelled at her. "I already tried yelling and shaking him. It won't help."

Draco's body dropped from her hands back to the sheets and Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes. "Draco, please. I need you."

Narcissa gave the girl a pitying look. "I'm taking him to St. Mungo's tomorrow. There's nothing this school or you can do for him."

Hermione felt the world unraveling around her and turn black as the floor rushed to meet her face.

* * *

Draco looked around and realized he was in the Malfoy Manor dungeons. During the war, Draco had been in charge of delivering people from the cells to Voldemort and the Death Eaters for torture. It brought back bad memories and Draco wondered why Amasius was showing him a memory of this.

Ahead of him in a cell was Ana. On the wall next to her were scratch marks which he supposed she marked to count the days. So far, it looked like there were 49 scratches; 49 days she had been locked up. There was an empty bowl at her foot and she was dressed in simple wizard robes but Draco could tell by the scars on her wrists and bruises on her neck that she was far from okay.

A wizard walked out of Ana's cell and with a grave look shook his head at Amasius, who was standing at the entrance of the dungeons. "I'm sorry your Majesty. I wish there was something I could do. Maybe at the next full moon you can call me back, maybe I can help then."

Amasius nodded dejectedly and turned to hear someone else walking down the steps as the healer exited. "Still no good news?" Armish asked with a frown. The healer repeated his apology to her before giving the couple one last sympathetic look and leaving. "I can't believe this is happening." Armish wailed quietly as her husband hugged her. "I can't believe I'm losing you to- to that hag."

"You know Amasius never thought of me as a hag." Ana hissed from her cell. "There was a time when I was the most important thing in his life." She called seductively. "I bet he still does from time to time. Isn't that right Amasius?"

Amasius sighed and stepped in front to Armish to block her view of Ana. "Don't listen to her, dear she's just-"

But Armish was having none of it. With a murderous gleam in her eyes she stepped up to Ana's cell. "How dare you say his name?" she exclaimed and with a wave of her wand, threw Ana against the wall behind her. Amasius cringed and held his head, as if he was in pain. "How dare you even look into his eyes when you're ruining his life and causing him so much grief?" Amasius was next to his wife in a second coaxing her to calm down, but her eyes seemed to be alight with fire. "Don't tell me to calm down Amasius! Don't act like you don't want to rip her head off for doing this to you."

Amasius frowned. "Armish, do not let your anger get the best of you. Leave Ana alone. You cannot fight fire with fire,"

"You should really listen to him." Ana hissed at Armish with a laugh. Her lip was bleeding and Draco was sure hitting the wall hurt, but Ana didn't let it bother her. "If you know what's good for you."

"Don't you tell me what's good for me!" Armish exclaimed, waving her wand again and this time she blasted the cell walls away in anger. One struck Ana in the side and she fell but kept smiling evilly at Armish.

"Armish, please stop this. She's not going to listen. You know how many times I've tried." Amasius said, trying to hold his wife back.

"Amasius, her potion is so powerful that it hurts for you to be more than 10 feet away from her and you feel every pain that she feels. She is tearing us apart. We have to try. For our child at least, please just try." Armish whispered, pleading with her husband.

Amasius sighed and ran a hand through his hair like Draco did. "Ana," he said slowly, but she jumped up and glared at him.

"Don't you dare, Amasius Malfoy!" she screamed at him, her voice echoing off the walls. "You said you loved me, then you left me for dead, and then you went and married her! I am the victim here! I bet you never even loved me."

"Ana I did love you." Amasius said. "And I wanted nothing more in the world to be with you but my father was going to kill me if I did not marry Armish." Both ladies were looking at him now; Armish shocked and Ana doubtful. "Come on Ana, think. He took your eyesight away; do you really think he would hesitate to take your life?"

"Well even if he did, your father has been dead for a year now. If I heard correctly he died two months after your wedding. You could have left her then! But you stayed with her! You chose her over me!" Ana yelled at him.

Amasius sighed. "I know I could have but … I cared for Armish and by that point we were expecting our first child." He said softly. "I wanted nothing more than to be with you and it ripped me apart when you cried and how I was powerless to stop the wedding from happening. But Armish is my family now, Ana. I cannot change that nor will I leave her and my child on the street. But you can change the future; our future. I still care for you. I will find a way for your eyesight to be replaced and I will not tell anyone about what you have done. Please, Ana I know you love me. Don't continue our lives like this."

"If you really cared for me, you would leave her." Ana sneered.

Amasius sighed and looked at his wife, then back to Ana. "I could. You're right. But after living with her, getting to know her, and bringing a child into this world with her. I have fallen in love with her." He said and Armish smiled. "Ana know how powerful love is. I could not leave her."

Ana looked like she wanted to believe him, but shook her head. "You're lying. You never loved me."

"Ana-" he said but before he could say something else, she lunged for Armish. "No!" Amasius exclaimed, stepping in front of his wife to protect her. Armish gasped, and in confusion dropped her wand.

For a moment there was silence and the clatter of the wand seemed to echo against the walls of the dungeons. All three reached for the wand but Ana was faster. She grabbed with mouth and then waved it so that the bindings on her hands and feet fell apart. Armish and Amasius froze. Ana smiled, "Oh how the tables have changed." She murmured.

"Please, Ana. Don't do anything brash." Amasius pleaded, his eyes following the wand.

Ana threw her head back and laughed coldly. "Oh me? I'm not the one that LEFT MY LOVER FOR DEAD." She was breathing heavily and had a crazy look in her unseeing eyes. "I really, really loved you Amasius." She said softly. "And this is how you repay me. By marrying a tramp and forgetting that I even exist."

"If you really loved him you'd leave him the hell alone!" Armish yelled at her.

"I do love him." Ana said with a sudden calm in her voice that made a shiver go down Amasius's spine. "That's why I'm doing this." She held the wand up to her neck and whispered, "Someday I hope you can forgive me for this."

"No!" Amasius exclaimed, lunging for the wand, but it was too late. Ana's head fell with a thud, detached from the body. Amasius suddenly started convulsing and Armish screamed, running to his side. There was blood pouring from his neck from an invisible wound, identical to the spot where Ana had cut herself.

"No, oh please no!" Armish exclaimed, trying and failing to stop the bleeding. "Help! Someone!"

Amasius lifted his hand for a moment to caress his wife's face one more time. "I love you." He whispered before his falling limp.

"No! NO!" Armish exclaimed. "Please no! Amasius! Please!"

Draco watched her scream for another ten minutes before guards finally appeared. They took in the scene and stood shocked for a moment. Armish didn't even notice them at first. She seemed to be trying – and failing – to shake the life back into Amasius.

* * *

Hermione didn't see Draco in her dream that night. Harry had been chosen as a replacement Head Boy and tried to talk to Hermione about her relationship with Draco but gave up after she burst into tears. She hadn't been there when his mother had taken him away to St. Mungo's, but later in the day an owl had appeared giving her a letter that said she had a right to see Draco Malfoy in the hospital whenever she wished.

It made everything seem final. Like Draco was truly never going to wake up again. The first day that he was gone, Hermione pretended that she needed a rest so that everyone would leave her alone. Once Ginny, Harry and Ron left her to go to classes, Hermione immediately began looking for the Dark Arts book Draco had brought.

She knew he would probably be against her reading this, but she needed information. She was the brightest witch of her age, she knew the dangers that came with Dark Magic and she planned to stay away from it unless it gave her a solution to help Draco.

Her head had been pounding the whole day because Ana was complaining about not being able to communicate with Amasius, but Hermione paid her no mind. She focused on reading without acknowledging Ana once. And besides, this was all her fault. She had given the potion to Amasius without telling him and ended her own life by suicide. She didn't deserve to be happy. She didn't deserve to know where Amasius – and Draco – had gone.

Hermione shut the Dark Arts book in frustration. There were plenty of spells to conjure a spirit from a body or to destroy one, but that required Draco being conscious. There had to be another way. Suddenly, another book caught her eye. It was very old and the pages were practically falling out but it seemed familiar to Hermione. Upon further inspection she realized it was the book that Ana had been looking at when making the potion for her and Amasius.

Hermione leafed through the book to find the page that Ana had used, when she realized that this was _the exact book_ that Ana had used. Hermione picked up the Dark Arts book again and found the incantation that could bring back thrown or destroyed material, especially paper. Sure it required blood from her wrist and many expensive ingredients, but that was a small price to pay as long as it got Draco out of his coma.

Hermione cut her palm and found the mark where Ana had ripped out the page with the potion ingredients.

_What do you think you're doing? _Ana exclaimed in her head as Hermione waved her wand over the book and started the incantation. She seemed to be getting anxious and making Hermione's headache increase, but Hermione kept going. After Hermione said the incantation once, she cut her other hand and said it again. As she was saying it, the page simmered in front of her, starting to appear with the ingredients Ana had used. _Stop that! _She yelled and Hermione's hand jerked, but she focused even harder on the incantation, and finally she was done.

When she opened her eyes the page was fully there. Hermione could not believe her luck. She just had to gather the ingredients before the next full moon (which was in five days) and find their reverse ingredients to reverse the potion's effects. Then Draco would be back.

* * *

A/N I'm so sorry that I have been away for so long! I hope this chapter finds you all in good health (even though the DW Christmas episode is coming and A WHOLE BUNCH OF SHOWS ARE ON WINTER HAITUS). I finally got a solid two days to write this after I wrote half of it, and then it got deleted. So I took some time off and now I rewrote it.

ANYWAY I plan for there to be two... THREE chapters at most to finish this story. I hope you all enjoyed the story and the plot. **Please review and tell me what you think! **

Also I plan to update as early as next week but in case I do not, happy holidays wonderful people!


	20. Chapter 20 - Ana Finally Gives Up

WHOP 20

"Everyone thinks I've gone insane." Hermione said dropping the flowers at Draco's hospital table. "I honestly hope I have not because insane people cannot complete complicated spells. But don't worry, by the end of today you'll be back Draco. I admit I've been a bit of a coward waiting until the full moon to come visit you." Hermione sighed, finding the courage to keep talking even though he could not hear her. "I could have come earlier if I had asked McGonagall… but I didn't. I just wanted to say sorry for that and leaving you to have just your mother and healers for company. I'm sure you got bored of seeing the same faces every day hm, Draco? "

Hermione watched his chest rise and fall for another minute. His condition had not changed since she had seen him in Hogwarts almost two weeks ago. His body looked well and he was clearly breathing, but he seemed to be in a state of permanent sleep. Which Hermione planned to fix.

She had researched and decided that it was Ana's potion from long ago that was preventing Draco from waking up. Pansy's two poor-excuses-for-potions had combined in his body and put him to sleep in the first place but Hermione was sure it was the spirits preventing him from waking up. Luckily tonight was the full moon and with the help of a book Draco had given her, she was going to undo Ana's potion.

"I'll see you when you wake up," Hermione said, giving Draco a peck on the cheek. McGonagall had allowed Hermione a couple of hours to visit Draco at St. Mungo's, but instead Hermione planned to use this spare time of being outside of the castle walls to enact her plan.

For a moment she allowed herself to daydream about Draco waking up: he would joke that he deserved the biggest bed the hospital had to offer. He would smile at her with that glint in his eye and request that Hermione share it with him. And Hermione would spend the whole night cuddling him and yelling at him for not waking up sooner. But he did not say anything. He would not hear anything she yelled at him. His eyes remained closed and his breathing even.

Shaking her head, Hermione configured her outfit into a nurse's outfit and in her place left a white paper that would reveal her location if anything life-threatening happened to her. Seeing as the reign of Voldemort was over, there was not much that could happen to her, but Hermione feared that the spell might backfire – seeing as it was Dark Magic she was trying to reverse. And in case it did, she wanted to be found.

She walked out of St. Mungo's without anyone giving her a second glance. She saw Madame Pince in the waiting room, probably waiting for Hermione to come out so that she could take her back to Hogwarts. Seeing her here reminded Hermione for a split second of when she had asked the Hogwarts librarian about books on spirits. She had gone very stiff and anxious when Hermione had asked and had not even helped one bit. Hermione would have given it more thought if she was not so busy thinking about how to bring Draco back to life.

Once out of the hospital, she apparated to Ana's grave. Because she had made the potion and given it to Amasius in the first place, it was where Hermione would have to begin. The grave yard had small areas covered with snow, and the moon light cast an eerie glow throughout the place.

Hermione took a deep breath and configured her normal wizarding robes back, shivering against the cold November wind. She opened the two books and put them side by side.

"Ab initio, et in die plenae lunae." She said beginning the incantation. "Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput." Hermione felt a sick feeling going through her as she sprinkled the potion where Ana's bones lay, but she continued. "Revertere, quo dignus es." The potion required warm blood and Hermione hissed as she cut her palm and let it flow over the grave.

_Stop it! That hurts! _Ana exclaimed in her head. _You're hurting me!_

Hermione felt a brief ounce of pity for the spirit, but she remembered Draco's lifeless body. She had to remember why she was doing this. She had to complete this.

"Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput." She repeated, waving her wand so that the Earth would absorb the ingredients and her blood. She had to make sure they reached Ana's bones without unearthing them.

_Please no!_ Ana exclaimed, trying to shake Hermione's concentration.

"You've had your fun," Hermione hissed aloud. "But now you are putting someone I care about in danger. Revertere, quo dignus es."

_No! I will not let you ruin this! Me and Amasius belong together!_

"News flash, psycho. He is in love with someone else. You are torturing him by making him a spirit living in Draco's head. He does not want this; he does not want you." Suddenly a pain shot through Hermione's head that made her fall to the ground. "Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput." She still managed to grit out.

_You fool! I'll kill you before I let you get away with this._

Hermione felt like all her bones were alight on her fire and her head would explode any moment now but she managed to stand back up and take out the redstone dust in her satchel. She sprinkled it in the same exact place where she had dropped the other ingredients and her blood. Fire sprung out of the ground and Hermione jumped back in surprise.

Suddenly, the corners of the world seemed to dark around her and she saw Draco in front of her. But he was not totally there; it was like the world was switching between the Draco in her dreams and the grave yard in front of her.

What was going on?

"Hermione?" he asked with a frown. Hermione almost sighed aloud at the sound of his voice. She had not seen him in her dreams at all since three weeks ago and now he was so close that he could almost see her. "What's happening? What are you doing? How are you here?" he asked, a panicked look in his eyes. He disappeared again for a moment and then reappeared, more in focus.

"Draco? Is that really you?" Hermione wanted to reach out and touch him, but she didn't want to mess up the spell.

Behind him, Hermione saw Amasius and wondered how this was happening. "I can only see you for because you have befallen an illness," Amasius commented to Draco suddenly, as if answering Hermione question. "Is it possible that your friend is in this 'coma' as well?"

"She better not be." Draco said and looked around as if Hermione was not there. "Hermione? Hermione answer me!"

_I told you I will not let you get away with this!_

Another headache shot through Hermione's head and she almost dropped her wand in shock. "Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput," She gasped through the pain. It did not matter what she was seeing – or not seeing – she had to finish this spell before anyone came looking for her. "Revertere, quo dignus es."

Suddenly, all of the pain stopped and Hermione clearly saw Draco and Amasius in front of her. "Amasius?" asked a voice and Hermione turned to see that Ana was also with them.

"Ana?" Amasius frowned. "What is going on?"

Draco was at Hermione's side immediately, looking her up and down closely as if assessing for injury. He stopped when he noticed the blood dripping from her palms where she had cut herself for the spell. "Hermione? What did you do?"

"She's trying to kill me!" Ana spoke up. She was frowning at Hermione, but when she looked at Amasius, her eyes were softer. "She's trying to take us away from each other, Amasius. Don't let her kill us."

"Ana," Amasius said, stepping away from his former lover as if he had never seen her. "We are dead; you killed us."

"It's her fault you're in a coma Draco. I'm trying to help you." Hermione said. "Amasius is in your bloodline, and somehow the potions you were poisoned with mixed with whatever was passed on to you from him and put you in a coma. I was doing a reverse spell, and bringing you back."

"By what? Slitting you hands? What spell are you even performing?" Draco exclaimed, real fear in his eyes. Hermione, looked away. She knew if she told him what book she was using he would tell her to stop.

"Amasius, we have to stop her to be together." Ana tried once again, drawing the attention of the group. "We have to kill her."

The scene shimmered in front of Hermione again and she felt lightheaded. She did not know if it was from the spell draining energy from her or fear from Ana's threat, but she hoped all of this would end soon.

"No the bloody hell you are not killing her." Draco said, standing in front of Hermione.

"Draco-"

"Ana listen to yourself," Amasius said softly. "You are talking about ending a girl's life to get what you want. How can you even suggest such a thing?"

Ana stared at him like he was a little child. "Amasius, she is the only thing standing between us being together. Don't you want to be together?"

"Draco I-" Hermione tried to tell him that she could barely see him now; she could barely see anyone. The world was growing dark, but her voice was not loud enough for him to hear.

Amasius shook his head. "No Ana, I do not." He said and Ana flinched as if he had physically hurt her. "We died over a century ago. I wish I was properly dead."

"But Amasius… I did this so we could be together. I did this for us. We can live forever; we can live with each other. How can you not be happy?" Ana asked, truly shocked.

Amasius shook his head sadly. "I have not been happy this whole time. I had to watch my wife, and my son die. I have to watch life go on, living in someone's head. I can't go anywhere, or do anything I want. Or be with the one I truly love. How can I possibly enjoy this? I never wanted this; I want to be dead. I want this to be over."

Ana stared at him, speechless. Finally, she dropped her head and a tear fell down her cheek. "Fine," she said, her voice full of sorrow and regret. "Fine," She turned to Hermione, who looked on the verge of collapsing. Draco's arms immediately tensed around her, but Ana made no threats or move to hurt her. "Kill me witch. Finish your spell."

Hermione wanted to- oh how she wanted to. But she could not find the words to finish the spell, she could not remember the words. Her brain was turning to mush and she could barely breathe.

"Hermione?" Draco exclaimed, shaking her. But his hands went right through her and he shimmered in front of her as if he was not there at all. "Hermione! No!"

"What? What happened?" Amasius exclaimed coming to Hermione's other side. But when he tried to hold her straight, his hands went through her as well.

"Draco, I feel like I'm dying." Hermione managed to grit out. "I can barely see you."

"No. No, Hermione listen to me you are NOT dying. Just listen to the sound of my voice." Draco yelled at her.

"But I'm so tired," Hermione murmured feeling the all-too-familiar tug of sleep pull at her body. Maybe if she just took a moment to relax-

"No! Hermione, just stay awake. Okay? Just stay awake and keep your eyes open. You have to finish the spell okay? Hermione please," He whispered brokenly.

"I don't want to die alone," Hermione said, darkness all around her now. "Draco are you still there?" She was trying to keep her eyes open – she really was – but it was getting harder every second. She could hardly remember why she was even fighting it.

"DO SOMETHING!" she heard him yell, probably at Ana. "You're in her head, right? Well take control! Do something!"

"I – I don't know if I can," Ana responded, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Draco?"

"Yes, Hermione yes. I'm right here. Keep talking to me. I am right here." He whispered to her, and then to Ana, "DO SOMETHING!"

Hermione was so tired of fighting the black. She only wished she could see Draco's face one more time, just so she could know if all of this was real. Just so she could know if she was dying alone or not.

Suddenly, without her command, her body began to stand up again and her right hand grasped her wand firmly. The pain was back in full force, and somehow her mouth was moving. She was saying something. She was saying the rest of the spell! Hermione opened her eyes, knowing it was Ana giving her body another chance.

"You can do this," she heard Draco whisper as he shimmered in front of her. He was crying and suddenly that made Hermione stand up even faster. She had to remember why she was doing this: she was doing this for Draco. She was not going to quit.

"Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput. Revertere, quo dignus es." She chanted along with Ana. "Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput. Revertere, quo dignus es. Spiritus redire ad inferos!" She managed to say with all the energy she had left.

A white light shone in front of her and at all once the breath seemed to leave her body. Hermione collapsed in a heap on Ana's grave.

* * *

**A/N Alrighty faithful readers! The show is almost over! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and all the action. Review and tell me your thoughts! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I finish it. Love you all!**


	21. Chapter 21

WHOP 21

"_You can do this," she heard Draco whisper as he shimmered in front of her. He was crying and suddenly that made Hermione stand up even faster. She had to remember why she was doing this: she was doing this for Draco. She was not going to quit. _

_ "Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput. Revertere, quo dignus es." She chanted along with Ana. "Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput. Revertere, quo dignus es. Spiritus redire ad inferos!" She managed to chant with all the energy she had left._

_ A white light shone in front of her and at all once the breath seemed to leave her body. Hermione collapsed in a heap on Ana's grave._

"Hermione," A voice whispered to her. It had been doing so for a while now. But she was not ready to listen to what else it was saying yet. She was still so tired. "Mione please," Another voice said and Hermione grunted. She was so tired; she did not want to wake up yet.

White light frayed at the ends of her vision but she fought it. People's faces swam in her dreams. People with ginger hair and one boy with a lightning bolt scar were frequently there and she recognized them as the voices talking to her. But there was another face. A boy with eyes that felt like home. He didn't say much. But whenever she saw his face she would feel light touches on her forehead, her cheeks, and her hands. She relished these touches.

It started with a small tickle in her throat. She thought she could just ignore it – there was no need to get up yet. She was so comfortable. She coughed. It was amazing how a simple cough as opposed to her best friends woke her.

"Here you go," a kind voice said, handing her a drink of water. Hermione drank it, eyes closed. Eventually she put it down and gave in to being awake.

"Ginny," she said with a smile, seeing her friend at her side.

Beside her was a table that had cards and chocolates. On her left was Draco, sleeping in a chair. Hermione's heart soared. "He hasn't moved for two days now- refused to leave your side for a moment. It's been quite a pain in the arse to even get him to eat I've heard."

Hermione rubbed her eyes and shifted to a more comfortable position in the hospital bed. So she had been in bed for two days now. Wow. "What happened?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Madame Pince said she found you collapsed –"

"No, no. With Draco? Is he okay now? Completely healed?"

Ginny smiled. "Yes, he's alright. He woke up two days ago and the first thing he did was look for you." Hermione sighed and relaxed. _He was okay. She had done it._ And then she felt it: the silence in her head. It meant Ana was truly gone. "Speaking of you, what happened? What did you do to yourself?"

"I – um I did a spell that brought Draco back," Hermione said quietly, eyeing the sleeping figure. He had dark circles under his eyes and stubble on his jaw. Hermione had never seen him so dishriveled. But… he had done all of this for her?

Suddenly, Ginny hugged her and Hermione squeaked in pain. Ginny immediately let go and apologized. "We were so worried about you, Hermione. Why didn't you ask any of us for help? Why didn't you even tell us what you were planning?"

Hermione shrugged, the familiar pull of sleep catching her again. "Honestly Ginny, what I did was crazy. I didn't want anyone –"

"You're bloody right it was crazy." A voice behind Ginny said and the two girls looked to see Draco had stood up.

Ginny frowned at him. "Give her a break, she just woke up."

"Leave us alone for a minute will you?" he asked, glaring at Ginny now.

"I'm not taking orders from you." Ginny fired, standing up as well. "You're the reason she did all this."

Hermione hurriedly grabbed her friend's hand. "Gin, please don't start arguing. Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll see you first thing in the morning."

Ginny smiled at her friend and gave her hand a squeeze. "Alright, but your wand is right by these chocolate frogs so don't hesitate to hex him." Hermione laughed as Ginny left.

"You must have had a hard time with them huh?" Hermione asked looking at Draco. His face wiped the smile from her mouth and Hermione's stomach dropped. That's right- she had almost forgotten. It was the love potion that made him look at her affectionately; like she was the only girl in the world. But now that it was gone…

She shifted in the bed and closed her eyes, willing the lump in her throat to go away. Draco waited quietly. Eventually she gathered her nerve and sat up in bed and looked at him. All traces of sleep had left her.

"Hi," she said to him in a small voice.

"You're an idiot." He said and Hermione's insides recoiled at his cold voice. He stepped closer to her bed, eyes filled with an unidentifiable emotion – probably annoyance that he was caught in the middle of this situation. "You could have died." He said.

"Well, I didn't." Hermione fired back. "And because of my idioticness you're here standing in front of me so I'm expecting a thank you."

A muscle shifted in his jaw and Hermione could see him fighting back harsh words. "Thank you." He grit out finally. "But that does not make any of this okay." He said. He hated being like this- emotional and barely under control of what he was saying. He wanted Hermione to realize how helpless he had felt watching her heal these past two days. He wanted to explain how much she meant to him, but the words just wouldn't come out the way he wanted them to.

Hermione frowned. "How is this not okay?" she exclaimed, unable to keep her voice at a whisper any longer. "You're okay now, right? Ana and Amasius are gone from our heads, right? And now I'm okay, right? Everything is fine! We can go back to our normal lives."

"You almost died," he said in a lower voice. "I – You risked your life for me."

"I-"

"And I know I should be thankful or proud of you or something," he said speaking over her. "But I'm not. I cannot believe you did that for me. I- I'm just –" He stopped, stepped away, and ran a hand over his face. "I was so afraid you were going to die when you were performing that spell, Hermione." He said turning back around and holding her hand. Eyes grey eyes blazed over hers and Hermione was sure her heart was beating too fast for normal. "You risked your life for me. Me! I was horrible to you for all of our years at Hogwarts. I didn't help when Bellatrix hurt you. I raised my wand at your best friends. I came in your room uninvited and kissed you and kept you up at night. Why would you do that for me? You should have just left me in that coma rather risk your-"

"I love you," Hermione said abruptly. She hadn't meant to say it but it came out of her mouth as if she had been saying it for years. She knew what she was saying would change everything; she could tell by the fear in his eyes and absentmindedly wondered if she had fear in hers. "I know you only felt something for me because of the love potion, but I- I truly love you." She looked away as tears filled her eyes. She knew he was probably going to just walk away but she had to say it. "I don't know when it happened but I love you and if I had to do that all over again – if I had to risk my life again, I would. My life was empty when your mother said there was nothing they could do. And then I had to watch you. I could see you in my dreams and I could hold you and I could pretend that everything was okay- but here in real life people were acting like you were dead. I felt like there was a hole in me and I couldn't think about anything else but wanting you back at my side. I know you don't feel the same but I'm not afraid to say it. I –"

Suddenly Draco lifted her chin and silenced her with a kiss. Hermione gasped against his mouth and frowned when he broke away. Carefully, he conjured a napkin and wiped her tears away. Hermione watched him in stunned silence. Who was this man standing before her?

When he finished he opened his mouth- and closed it. And he repeated this three times before standing up and running his hands through his hair. "I don't know how to do this," he said at last, turning back to her with a weary expression on his face. "I – these past few days I haven't spoken to anyone properly. I've just been yelling about you and yelling at people to leave me alone and – Hermione I don't know how to say what I feel."

"It's okay," she said, "You don't have to – I know you don't-"

He shook his head and chuckled. "You honestly think you don't mean anything to me?" he asked and Hermione's breath caught. He sat in Ginny's vacated seat and held Hermione's hand. "You're right, the love potion was a big factor in this but-" he sighed again, smiling and then ruffling his hair. "When I first went into that coma and saw you that was after they had taken Pansy's potions out of my body, right?" Hermione nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. "So that means the effects of the potion should have worn off even if it was just a dream. I should have been back to normal like I was before the love potion, right?" Hermione nodded again. "But I wasn't." he said with a smile, and Hermione froze. Was this really happening? "The smell about you caused by the love potion was gone but – but my feelings were the same." He searched her eyes, hoping she would understand him. "My love for you was the same. It still is. I love you." He said and Hermione's heart soared. "I love everything about you – your stubbornness," He kissed her hand. "Your intellect," he kissed her forehead. "Your voice," he kissed her under her jaw. "Your little habits, your body- everything." He was breathless now- kissing her between every other word. "I know I'm rude and short tempered and -"

"Draco?" Hermione said, cutting him off. She looked at him, trying to memorize this exact moment. Memorize her erratic pulse, his frozen smile, the silence of the room, and the hand intertwined in hers. "I love you," she said with a smile.

He relaxed, letting out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. He had started this year out with a hollow heart and an empty future. But here was – his heart ready to burst, beside the only person that mattered to him.

* * *

EPILOGUE

It was weird – being at a wedding and not being a guest. Yesterday it scared the pants out of him but he was going to go through with it. After all, it was everything he had been dreaming of doing for two years now. He caught his mother and father's smile sitting in the front row. Thankfully Azkaban had lifted their rules for a bit and allowed Lucius to wear a proper embroidered white cloak to the ceremony.

The past 7 after leaving Hogwarts had passed in a blur. Though it was tough, Draco had become a lawyer for anyone and everyone in Azkaban. Not an Auror – a real and proper lawyer. He worked with Aurors and The Ministry to make Azkaban a more fair prison. The dementors no longer roamed freely and (depending on the circumstances) prisoners were allowed be let out for a day every 2 months to be with family. They were allowed to wear a cuff that Draco had designed when Hermione had explained to him the muggle "house arrest" system.

When the life he was living now had been just an idea, Hermione had been the only person that believed in him. And together, they had achieved it. There were still many corrupt people that wanted to bring Draco down but slowly he was getting somewhere. He, Potter, and the two youngest Weasleys were even working to develop a law school for others who wanted to join Draco.

Speaking of Hermione's best friends, they had turned out to be nice company in the end. Of course the Weaselys took special happiness in torturing Draco to boredom, but he learned to get used to it. Especially because Hermione would kill him if he didn't at least try to be courteous.

Finally, the harp started to play and the doors at the other end of the hall opened. Draco could barely control the smile that crept onto his face. At the end of the hall was his wife-to-be. Personally she had wanted a fast marriage but Draco had insisted on adorning her with a large ceremony filled with ceremony and friends. Sure it made his bank account empty at an alarming rate, but she was worth it.

And what a sight she was. She walked down the aisle; arm in arm with her father a smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks. Everything else seemed to lose meaning as she approached him. She gave his hand a small squeeze when she met him at the altar.

"You look beautiful," he said to her, wishing he could just carry her away in his arms already.

"And you look nothing short of perfect," she said and Draco winked.

"Draco Malfoy," she said aloud, starting her vows and holding his right arm as he did the same. "We would be lying to each other and everyone in this room if we said we were ready for this. Because I'm not and I know you probably are not." Her eyes shone bright and Draco smirked at her words. She never failed to surprise him. "But I am telling the truth when I say this is what I want. You are what I want. You are my sunshine, you are my best friend, you give me motivation to never give up, and you are an amazing person. You are the first thing I want to see in the morning, you are the last thing I think of before I go to sleep, and it's you that I want to be with every moment. I promise, to never leave you," she said and a magical bond formed around their arms. "I promise to always believe in you." Another bond formed. "I promise to laugh at all of your silly jokes," at this Draco and the crowd laughed as another bond formed. "And I promise to love you- every moment of every single day." A final red bond formed and Hermione sighed with happiness.

And then it was his turn. He had a hard enough time just expressing to Hermione how he felt, and now he was going to have to do it in front of a hundred people. However, when he started to speak it seemed like he had been reciting paragraphs about his love for her forever. "My perfect Hermione Jean Granger. I have known you for 14 years now, and from the moment I say you I knew you were amazing. I knew I was going to have a rival that could match my pace, my intellect, and my strength but I had no idea I would be meeting my other half. I was a horrible person for a long time but in three months you changed my life. You made me a better man; I would not be who I am today without you. You are everything to me," he said, whispering the last part fiercely. "Try as I might I may never be able to express how much I love you but from this day forth, I promise to say things like this every day," he didn't know it was possible, but his smile got even bigger at the first bond formed. "I promise to protect you, I promise to love you, and I promise to be at your side forever."

"'Till death do us apart," they said in unison as a final, fifth bond formed over both their arms.

"I love you," he whispered in her hair as he put the wedding ring on her finger.

"And I love you," Hermione said, lifting her lips to meet his.

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. THE END.

* * *

**A/N**: WOW. JUST WOW. My first ever multi-chapter story to be truly completed. WOW. It's been an amazing journey with you all, these characters and writing this story. Especially because this was my favorite one to write ;)

So what did you guys think of Draco's job as a lawyer. If you remember, in an earlier chapter he had expressed interest in becoming a lawyer so I thought I owed it to him. I hope everyone enjoyed the ending and I wanted to thank all of you for reading and taking the time to review, favorite, or follow. That really and truly means a lot to me.

Lots of work went into writing this and every bit has been worth it. :) Again thank you all for your encouraging words, criticism and support. The HP fandom will never die. :)


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